


The Trouble In Binder

by PsychoPancakeTheThird



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Western, Bit of Cat Grant, Doctor Alex Danvers, Drunkard Lena Luthor, F/F, Gunslingers, J'onn J'onnzz, Sam & Lena highway robbers, Sheriff Kara Danvers, Slow Burn, Smut, Wild West Hijinks, Winn the friendly neighbourhood farrier, eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-20 15:54:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 64,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14264475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychoPancakeTheThird/pseuds/PsychoPancakeTheThird
Summary: Kara's a sheriff, Alex is a doctor, Sam's a bounty hunter and Lena's... well she's the town drunk but she does it with style.They've all got a lot to learn and they've all got some changing to do. There's a whole bunch of Wild West goodness, hijinks, jokes, drama, steaminess, maybe the odd plot twist, and a lot of tense dialogue and gunfights.





	1. Black Hat, Meet White

**Author's Note:**

> This idea kind of sprung at me as I was writing something else and I'm really enjoying writing so...  
> Also since then I feel like western stuff and country music has just been flying at me from all directions and I'll take it as a sign that I should keep going.

The steady beat of hooves pounding the trail thumped in Lena’s head. Her mouth was dryer than the dirt she was lying in and her muscles ached like she'd fallen asleep in a ditch. She cracked an eye open tentatively and immediately reached up to shield her eyes with her black wide brimmed hat. Not for the first time did she realise the benefit of a longer coat. Her black jacket was tailored to her torso and now, as her corset uncomfortably rose away from her trousers, it left her bare to the ground. The ache in her muscles made sense now, she had fallen asleep in a ditch.  
  
She groaned as she precariously rose to her feet and began to stagger back into town. Her spurs jingled lightly with every step and it irritated her greatly. When she reached the town sign for Binder she rested against it a risked a glance skyward. The fierce light made her wince, but she now guessed it was probably about eleven o’clock. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out an ugly brown cigarette. She placed it between her lips, fished around in another pocket for her matches and sighed with slight relief when she took the first puff of tobacco.  
  
She let the cigarette hang between her lips as she adjusted the holster at her hip and straightened herself out. She pulled the cigarette away from her mouth, inspected it and rolled her eyes as she realised she was probably a complete mess. No lipstick stain on the cigarette was not a good sign for her appearance. Lena continued to smoke as she chugged along Binder’s main street. She snubbed it out on a wooden pillar as she sprang up the two steps in front of the saloon. She flicked the end away and strode into the dimly lit haven of liquor.  
  
‘Drink.’ She said as she slumped over the bar, holding out her hand in anticipation of a glass sliding into it.  
  
‘I think you had more than enough last night.’ Treachery. Lena’s brow furrowed as she thought about complaining. ‘Clean yourself up and maybe I’ll think about serving you again.’ She looked up into Jess’ eyes and saw no room for manoeuvre.  
  
She slapped her hand on the bar as she stepped away and headed for the stairs. Her legs felt heavy as she trudged solemnly upstairs. She closed the curtains as soon as she entered the room and began to peel away layers of clothing. The jug and basin on the side had obviously been left there earlier by Jess and she sighed gratefully before scrubbing away a night of drinking and rough sleeping.  
  
The cold water was a refreshing shock to the system, but she still felt groggy. If Jess wasn’t going to serve her the best way to deal with the hangover, she was to sleep through it. She flopped onto the bed and passed out within minutes.  
  
When she woke up mid-afternoon her head had cleared somewhat, and she was more accepting of sunlight. She threw back the sheets and began the tediously complicated process of getting dressed. Still, it could have been worse, she could still be forced into ridiculous dresses that did nothing but suck the air from her lungs and drown her in material. Just as she finished fastening the holster and sliding her pistols into place she heard two loud and unmistakable pops sound downstairs. She flung open the door and stormed downstairs with both guns drawn.  
  
‘Who the fuck is firing their gun in my saloon?!’ Lena’s voice rang out from the stairs as her eyes swept the room. The noise, that had slowly been picking up since the gunshots had sounded, now sunk to a silence. Eyes darted all around the room, mostly avoiding Lena’s gaze. A quiet cough drew attention in the right direction and Lena’s dusky green eyes landed on the pistol being shoved back into its holster.  
  
‘You!’ Lena’s left hand slid one gun home, while her right hand held a barrel directly at an unfamiliar woman. Ridiculous fringed chaps led up to a loose blue linen shirt and a red and white wild rag framed by golden waves. The greenhorn adjusted the white stetson on her head. When she turned to face Lena front on a shining silver star pinned to her chest rubbed Lena the wrong way.  
  
‘Kindly lower your gun ma’am.’  
  
‘I’ll lower it when I’m sure you’re not about to start putting more holes in my property.’ Lena began to descend the remaining stairs.  
  
‘I’m the law in this town now, so I’ll ask again. Kindly lower your gun ma’am.’ The blonde’s hand rested on the hilt of her gun as she stared straight back.

Lena’s nostrils flared.  
  
‘You might be the law in this town but I’m the law in this bar.’ Her gun remained fixed on Kara as she reached over the counter and pulled out a bottle of whisky. ‘You want a drink and I’ll gladly take your money. You want to start firing that pea shooter and you get thrown out on your ass.’ Lena ran her thumb along the cork of the bottle and popped it out of place, letting it topple onto the counter. Lena took a long swig as she held her gun and gaze on her new least favourite person. She quickly remembered Lillian Luthor existed and corrected herself mentally, second least favourite person.  
  
The stranger’s blue eyes fixed on hers as she sauntered toward Lena, ordered a drink over Lena’s shoulder, paid and downed it in one.  
  
‘Are we going to have trouble?’  
  
‘You tell me tinman. You going to beat your chest like the men before you, or have you got a cooler head on those shoulders?’  
  
‘You got a problem with authority or men?’ Lena took a swig of whisky to keep from laughing at the question.  
  
‘Right now, my problem is the bullet holes you just put in my wall.’ Lena glanced across the room. ’I’m not too fussed about the dents you put in Maxwell Lord though.’ The blonde smiled knowingly.  
  
‘I’ll find you a picture to hang over the holes.’ Lena’s eyes narrowed. She spun the pistol on her finger before slotting it away.  
  
‘You fire in here again and I might not be so forgiving.’ Lena slipped away from the bar and settled herself in the darkest corner of the saloon. The blonde ordered and drank one more shot of rum before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come fan girl with me about Katie McGrath's face on tumblr @psychopancakethethird


	2. The Brains And The Brawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a VERY out of character Lucy Lane in here... don't think I even called her Lucy to be honest. I don't ascribe any of her character in this to the person she is in the show, or the actress for that matter. Just a recycled name. I also don't share any of Binder's Miss Lane's opinions.

Days of riding meant Kara was flooded with relief when she trotted past the town marker for Binder. The black clad figure groaning in the ditch a few hundred yards back hadn’t been the best advertisement for the town but Kara was here to solve those kinds of problems. And it wasn’t like she was going to have to do it on her own. Keeping pace with her was another rider, the greatest riding companion Kara had ever known. Draped in her blue, grey and black poncho Alex held out her hand palm upwards. Kara slapped down on it with a smile on her face.

‘We made it.’ Alex said triumphantly.

‘Sure did.’ She watched Alex flick the brim of her cream hat up and fidget uncomfortably in the saddle.

‘Let’s never move again. I don’t think I can take another cross-country ride like that.’ Kara laughed at Alex’s pained expression. 

‘I kinda liked sleeping out under the stars.’ They began to pass by buildings and the town seemed to grow around them.

‘You can still sleep outside if you like. But I for one I will be glad to have a bed.’

‘You’re assuming you have a bed. I don’t know that this job comes with a bed for the Sheriff’s sister.’ Alex quickly turned a scowl toward Kara.

‘If there’s a bed, it’s mine.’ They slowed to a halt in front of the sheriff’s office. Kara took a moment to examine the building. The middle of the day and the town was bustling, in the distance she could hear the distinctive clinking of a hammer on an anvil and a light breeze brushed through her hair. She smiled and slipped out her saddle. 

The sheriff’s office sat in stark contrast to the rest of the town. It was eerily quiet, blanketed in a layer of dust and smelling faintly of piss, presumably thanks to the last occupant of the now empty cell. Kara’s thudding steps echoed as she paced toward her new desk. Sitting in the middle was exactly what she’d been working towards. She picked it up, wiped the loose grime off on her shirt and polished it with her scarf. 

Alex stepped up behind her and rested her chin on Kara’s shoulder.

‘I kinda figured it would be fancier.’

‘It’s perfect.’ Kara’s eyes gleamed as she stared at the simple silver sheriff badge. She held it up proudly and Alex sighed.

‘Well that’s you set. All we need now is somewhere for me to practice medicine.’ Alex's voice was tinged with a despondence that suggested she was not holding out much hope.

‘There’s no doctor in town. Well… there is now. I’m sure they’ll be glad to have you around.’

‘Yeah. Just because every other town we’ve been to turned their nose up at a lady doctor, doesn’t mean this one will.’ Alex drawled. Kara pinned her badge on her shirt and turned to wrap Alex in a hug.

‘I’ll make this place the local doctor’s office too if I have to. And the first person who even tries to tell me a lady can’t be a doctor will get my boot up their behind.’ Alex let out a breathy laugh and squeezed Kara harder before letting go.

‘Come on, it’s time to see the digs that come with this job.’ Kara’s eyes turned nervous and she chewed on her lip.

‘I wasn’t exactly given instructions on that bit.’

‘You’re useless, you know that?’ Alex huffed and grabbed Kara’s hand to drag her out the office. ‘Howdy.’ Alex called out to a passing lady.

‘Howdy.’ The lady nodded but continued walking.

‘You think you could help us out.’ The woman stopped and quirked her head to demonstrate her uncertainty. ‘Where does the sheriff live?’

‘Sheriff’s dead. He don’t live nowhere.’ 

‘Alright, so where does the new sheriff live?’ Alex pointed to the silver star on Kara’s chest and raised a brow. The lady sighed and paced closer to the Danvers sisters. She held out her hand for both of them to shake in turn.

‘Miss Lane.’

‘Doctor Danvers, Sheriff Danvers.’ Kara proudly pointed to Alex before herself and threw an arm over Alex’s shoulder. ‘My sister is the brains, I’m the brawn.’ Miss Lane laughed delicately.

‘Well aren’t you two the novelty.’ She left an awkward silence between them as she considered for a moment. ‘The old sheriff’s place got burnt down. This town hasn’t got a lot of room to spare. Only place I can think of is Jon Johns lodgings above the shop, but you wouldn’t want to stay there.’

‘Why not?’ Kara asked.

‘Why because he’s a black. Better than a native savage but not by much. We only really tolerate him in town because he keeps to himself and gives a good price on furs.’ Kara’s skin crawled and she winced at the brazen racism. Alex subtly poked her side and focused on Miss Lane.

‘Where can we find him?’ 

‘Only store on this side of the street.’ Miss Lane shook her head in dismay and walked away down the street.

‘Time to go meet a fellow social outcast I guess.’ Alex said drily.

‘She was so-‘

‘-I know.’

‘It’s not f-‘

‘-I know.’

‘People shouldn-‘

‘-I know.’ Alex hooked her arm around Kara’s back and rubbed her arm as they walked. ‘But if you pick a fight with everyone who talked like that, you’re going to have more people gunning for you than Geronimo.’ Kara sighed but nodded in agreement. Kara had a plan to make up for not beating Miss Lane up.

She walked confidently into Jon Johns’ store with the biggest smile she could plaster on her face and greeted him with a welcoming handshake.

‘Howdy. Sheriff Danvers.’

‘Howdy, Jon Johns.’ He smiled at her with a glimmer of hope in his eye.

‘This is my sister, Doctor Danvers.’

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’ve never met a lady doctor before.’

‘They like to keep us hidden away so no one knows we do the job better than the men.’ Jon laughed heartily and shook Alex’s hand.

‘What can I do for you ladies?’

‘We hear you’ve got lodging available.’ Surprise spread on Jon’s face as Kara spoke and he couldn’t keep it from spilling into his voice.

‘And you want to accept lodgings from me?’

‘Sure do.’

‘If there’s a bed, I’ll practically be throwing my money at you.’ Alex added.

Jon showed them upstairs to the rooms he could offer them, and they gladly accepted. With their few belongings put in place Alex was exhausted and excited to sleep on a real bed. She laid down and knew she wasn’t going to be getting up again for quite a while.

‘You’re going to have to go on without me. I’m not going to make it.’ Alex lifted her arm and extended her hand to the door.

‘Thank God, I thought I was going to be stuck with you the rest of my life.’ Alex tucked her chin into her chest and scowled at Kara.

‘Hey, you’re lucky I put up with you.’

‘I’m pretty sure it’s you that’s lucky, I put up with your dramatics.’

‘Me? Dramatic?’ Alex lay the back of her hand against her forehead and turned away from Kara. ‘How could you?’

‘I’m going now.’

‘Love you.’ Alex called after her.

‘Yeah, yeah. Love you too.’

 

Kara stepped back out into the street, she searched up and down before choosing a destination. The saloon was surely the place to meet the locals. Her boots dug into the sandy dirt of the main street and she adjusted her hat nervously. She straightened her back and strode through the swing doors, trying her best to exude confidence. A few faces turned to her and clocked the silver star immediately. There was a rumble or mutterings sweeping through the bar.

Kara decided to take a stroll around the joint before settling herself at the bar. But she barely made it half way round the tables before she heard a loud voice that made her jaw clench.

‘Best put that badge back before the new sheriff catches you with it girl.’ Kara turned to him, a particularly smug little man reclining in a booth.

‘I am the new sheriff.’ She pushed the words out, trying to keep some other choice words in.

‘Well if you’re all they sent I guess we must not need a sheriff.’ He scoffed and looked about the room for people to laugh with him.

‘You think I don’t know how to do my job?’

‘I know you don’t sweetheart. You can put trousers on but it don’t make you no man.’

‘And you might have a dick but it don’t make you no man.’ Kara surprised even herself with her foul mouth but her right hand itched to hold her gun. It was almost like the family crest etched on the hilt was beckoning her.

‘Ho- oohhh. She’s got bite this one fellas. I bet you’re all kinds of fun for a tumble in the hay.’

‘You think this gun is just for show?’

‘Oh I’m sure you can hold it, you can probably pull the trigger. But I doubt you could hit the target without your barrel pressed against it.’ Kara’s jaw clenched tighter, she stormed away.

‘That’s right little lady. Know your place.’ Kara found the corner furthest from him, turned to face him, ready to, in the most polite way possible, tell him to go fuck himself. Quick as a flash she drew her weapon and fired a shot either side of his head. One of her bullets nicked his ear and he let out a yelp.

There was a thundering of footsteps upstairs and then a loud angry voice bellowed from the stairs and the room fell quiet.

‘Who the fuck is firing their gun in my saloon?!’ Kara gulped guiltily and moved to put her pistol back in its holster.

‘You!’ A gun barrel was suddenly pointed at her and she regretted putting hers away. She adjusted her hat and turned to face the proprietor to apologise. But then she saw the raven-haired woman’s eyes dart down to her badge and fill with defiance.

‘Kindly lower your gun ma’am.’ Kara knew the town had been without a law-man in quite some time and the last one had been killed in cold blood. She also knew she’d already had to stand her ground as Binder’s new sheriff today. Chances were high she was about to have another stare down.

‘I’ll lower it when I’m sure you’re not about to start putting more holes in my property.’ The chances just got higher.

‘I’m the law in this town now, so I’ll ask again. Kindly lower your gun ma’am.’ Kara tried to soften her eyes from ticked off to imploring but she wasn’t sure she’d been successful.

‘You might be the law in this town but I’m the law in this bar.’ The woman had managed to cross the saloon, reach over the bar and grab a bottle all while keeping her eyes fixed on Kara. ‘You want a drink and I’ll gladly take your money. You want to start firing that pea shooter and you get thrown out on your ass.’ She opened the bottle with her free hand and enjoyed the burn of whisky. Honestly, Kara was impressed. This woman had the kind of confidence and no nonsense attitude she wished she could present. But she couldn’t very well buckle now. Not on her first day, not in front of all these people.

Kara attempted to give her best swagger as she strode up to the bar, invaded the woman’s personal space and ordered a drink over her shoulder. She knocked it back and kept the distaste from her face.

‘Are we going to have trouble?’

‘You tell me tinman. You going to beat your chest like the men before you, or have you got a cooler head on those shoulders?’

‘You got a problem with authority or men?’ Kara noticed a small quirk of the woman’s lips and the beginnings of a laugh as she took another swig from her bottle of whisky.

‘Right now, my problem is the bullet holes you just put in my wall.’ Her eyes darted across the room. ’I’m not too fussed about the dents you put in Maxwell Lord though.’ Kara recognised the repulsion for the man in the woman’s fascinating green eyes. She smiled approvingly.

‘I’ll find you a picture to hang over the holes.’ Kara shrugged and she wasn’t sure if it was offence or humour she saw in the woman’s expression. All the same she put her pistol away and Kara managed to keep her sigh of relief internal.

‘You fire in here again and I might not be so forgiving.’ Kara had one more shot of rum in celebration and headed back to her new place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @psychopancakethethird on tumblr


	3. Lena's Mute Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished all my work early today so guess who used company time to pull out their laptop and edit another couple of chapters....

Lena woke up in a ditch again. Face down this time for a bit of variety and only slightly less hungover than the day before. But she was still sore enough to be miserably grumpy that she had been woken by a boot knocking her in the hip.

‘Get up you lazy drunken mess.’ There was a quiet rumbling of discontent from Lena’s prone figure. ‘I’ll just kick you harder…’ The voice began to register in Lena’s mind and a small smile etched itself on her face. She lifted her head enough to wipe the dirt from her face and put her hat back in place. When she rolled over she rested back on her elbows and smiled up at the black silhouette against the sun.

‘That better not be judgement in your voice.’ The figure raised their hands and tilted their head. A black felt panama hat sliced across the sun with the motion and Lena squinted at the flickering light.

‘I don’t make the judgements, I just make sure people meet them. Come on.’ A hand shot out from the long brown leather duster coat. Lena gripped it tight and lurched to her feet. She flicked the dust from her own jacket and wrapped her arms around the figure.

‘That was unusually poetic of you, Sam.’

‘I can be poetic sometimes. Am I to assume that this ditch has become a regular haunt for you while I’ve been away?’

‘You can assume what you like but don’t expect me to confess anything to the west’s most notorious bounty hunter.’ Sam patted Lena’s back and pulled her along with an arm over her shoulder. Sam smoothly slipped a cigarette between her lips and flicked open her lighter to start the soothing orange glow. Lena lightly shoved Sam with a cigarette now hanging from her mouth and Sam reached across to light it.

‘Binder been dreadfully dull without me?’

‘Not at all. We had the annual corn festival last week.’ Lena drawled.

‘Lucky for you I bring news.’ Sam squeezed Lena’s shoulder and jumped in front of her with hands splayed, cigarette clasped between two fingers. ‘There’s a caravan headed our way soon.’ Lena smiled menacingly.

‘You bring the best gifts.’ She dragged heavily from her cigarette and blew the smoke over Sam’s shoulder. ‘Who are we robbing this time?’

‘That’s the best bit.’ Sam waggled her eyebrows excitedly. ‘Luthor Trading Co.’ Lena cackled instantly.

‘Did I ever tell you you’re my favourite bounty hunter?’ Sam looked at her with mock offence.

‘I’m the only bounty hunter you know that hasn’t tried to make a quick buck off your name. You need to work on your compliments Miss Luthor.’ Lena lightly punched Sam’s shoulder and the two fell back in step towards town.

‘You show me someone worthy of my best compliments and I will blow your mind.’ Lena glanced around them. ‘Where’s Reign?’

‘It was a long ride so I tied her up at the water trough before waking your drunk ass up.’

‘For a second there I thought you’d lost her in a game of poker.’

‘Rude. I don’t lose at poker. And I’d sell my left butt cheek before I gave up that horse.’

‘What about the right?’ Sam hip checked her and Lena broke into a snicker. ‘She need new shoes?’

‘I reckon so.’ The pair of them flicked what remained of their cigarettes to the ground and crushed them under foot. They rounded the corner and it wasn’t long before they were leading their horses to the local farrier.

‘So, when’s mother’s caravan heading past?’

‘Tomorrow.’ Lena couldn’t fight the grin spreading across her face. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen you this excited since I took you to Madame Smythe’s in Plastino.’ Lena’s face flushed a little at the memory and she scoffed loudly.

‘I think you and I remember that particular trip very differently. The look on that girls face when she realised I wasn’t a man haunts me to this day.’

‘Doesn’t mean you weren’t excited when I suggested we investigate a brothel for science reasons.’ Lena shook her head and tightened her grip on her horse’s reins.

‘Any idea how protective mother is being of this shipment?’ They sauntered up to where a focused man was beating the curve into a new horseshoe. He looked up at the sound of their voices and nodded.

‘Word is it’ll be a light guard to bluff the value of the goods. Your mother is playing a game and it’d probably work.’

‘Both horses?’ The farrier asked.

‘Please, Mr Schott.’ Lena said as she nodded at Winn. Lena and Sam leant against a wooden pillar as he worked and quietly discussed the details of the trading company route. When Winn had finished Lena handed him far more money than he had asked for and understood he was being paid for his discretion as much as his work. Lena fondly patted her horse and smiled at Winn.

‘Thank you, Mr Schott.’ Both Lena and Sam tipped their hats politely at him and turned to head out of town. They made it no further than two steps before noticing the women heading towards them. Lena glanced at Sam and talked out the corner of her mouth, ‘I forgot to mention… there’s a new sheriff in town.’

‘And you’re telling me this now because.’ Sam whispered.

‘You’re about to meet her.’ Sam’s brows shot up and her gaze swept over the women in front of her.

‘Sheriff.’ Lena said, keeping any inflections from giving away her opinion. The auburn-haired woman with the sheriff was apparently in no mood to be friendly, though Lena noticed her eyes kept drifting to Sam.

‘Glad to see I won’t be held at gunpoint every time we meet Miss…?’ The sheriff held her hand out in a peace offering that Lena reluctantly accepted.

‘Lena is fine. This is my friend Sam Arias.’ The sheriff’s eyes widened and a huge grin swelled on her face.

‘The bounty hunter? Crimany! I hear if you drew any faster you’d catch up to yesterday.’ Blue eyes shone with admiration as she looked at Sam who simply nodded and locked eyes with the sheriff’s companion. ‘Oh shoot, I’m Sheriff Danvers. This is my sister Doctor Danvers.’ The doctor laughed nervously and twisted her hands in her poncho.

‘Well, Doc, Sheriff, a pleasure to formally meet you. But we’ve got to be heading out.’ Lena nodded at the women and launched herself onto her horse. Sam tipped her hat in the doctor’s direction and followed behind Lena.

Once they had trotted out of ear shot Lena turned a mischievous grin on Sam.

‘What was that?’

‘What was what?’

‘You didn’t say a word! And you could not keep your eyes off our new _lady_ doctor.’

‘I was going for quietly mysterious. Do you think I pulled it off?’ Lena laughed from her belly as she leant back in her saddle.

‘No! Now you’re just my mute friend.’ Lena shook her head. ‘And sooner or later those two are going to hear all about us and you missed your chance to woo her before that happens.’ Sam scowled.

‘Oh, you’re so funny… You know women like us don’t get what they want no matter what they do.’ Lena sighed in assent.

‘Alright, let’s check we’ve got everything we need for tomorrow. Then we can head back to the saloon and rob the town blind.’ Lena said as she struggled to wink at Sam. Sam laughed loudly and started to race Lena out of town.

The pair slowed as they approached an abandoned mining tunnel. A splintering wooden sign had been attacked by the sun, but the faint lettering could still be made out on close inspection, _Luthor Mining Co._ Lena dropped into the sandy soil from her horse and Sam followed suit. Lena passed off her reigns to Sam and disappeared into the dark cave entrance.

When she re-emerged, she was holding two bulging satchels.

‘Doesn’t look like anyone’s been in there but… equipment checks to be sure?’

‘Of course.’ Sam hooked both sets of reins around a nearby tree and sauntered over to where Lena was systematically laying out the contents of the bags. ‘I’ve always kind of hated our heist outfits.’

‘They certainly don’t show off our assets.’ Lena raised a brow at Sam and smirked.

‘I suppose that’s the point.’ Sam said glumly. ‘It’d be nice to have everyone know that they kept getting robbed by women though…’

‘We talked about this Sam. It’s much easier for us to evade capture if they aren’t even looking for the right gender.’

‘I know.’ She sighed. Lena picked up a long chord of rope and passed it to Sam.

‘Check this.’ Sam rolled her eyes and ran her hands along the rope, searching for any tears. Lena began to pack away their gear and smiled in satisfaction when it was all tidily resting on her horse. ‘Let’s go.’

Later that day, their preparations were complete, they had eaten, and they had napped. They smiled devilishly at each other as they clomped down the stairs of the saloon and commanded the kind of fearful respect usually only offered when the military was passing through. Lena slouched into a chair, set her heels heavily on the green felt poker table and leant back until only two chair legs supported her.

‘Who’s ready to give me all their money?’ She said around a cigarette as she struck a match. Sam leant against the bar as she waited for Jess to hand over a new bottle of whisky and saw the reluctance on the faces of the men of Binder.

‘Don’t think these so-called men want to face a woman.’ Sam baited as she gripped the bottle neck and sidled over to the table. She plonked herself into the chair beside Lena and slid two glasses onto the felt before pouring the amber liquid they both knew they’d regret drinking the next morning. It wasn’t long before the overconfident men joined the table, the cards were dealt, and the chips were shuffling toward both women.

‘It’s almost too easy.’ Lena wiggled her eyebrows at Sam.

‘There’s no almost about it. It is too easy.’ Sam paused to take a gulp of whisky. ‘We should get some tougher competition in town for a tournament.’

‘I’m inclined to agree.’

‘I’m glad. Think we could get some of the business boys from Plastino interested?’ And in her drunken stupor Lena was positive that they could.

‘Absolutely.’


	4. Story Time

When Kara woke she stretched and sighed in pleasure after a night of very comfortable sleep. She noted Alex was already up and started to get dressed. Her stomach growled violently, and it sped her along until she was sat around a table with Jon and Alex. Jon had rustled up the ingredients for biscuits and gravy, and Alex had insisted on helping put it all together in time for when Kara woke up.

‘I love Binder already.’ Kara said after she’d taken her first bite. Alex rolled her eyes and patted Kara’s shoulder.

‘Try to have some table manners, empty your mouth before speaking.’ Kara smiled and opened her mouth at Alex to show her half-chewed food. ‘You’re so gross.’ Kara swallowed happily and washed the food down with some questionably clean water.

‘Thank you for this Jon, we forgot to buy any groceries yesterday.’ Kara said with a bright smile.

‘It’s not a problem. It’s nice to have some company.’

‘Don’t speak too soon. I know what kind of company Kara is, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.’

‘Oh, ha ha. Such wit.’ Kara shoved Alex’s shoulder, ‘I’m excellent company, she’s the grumpy one of the two of us.’ Jon smiled pleasantly at both of them.

‘So, what should the new sheriff in town know about Binder?’ Alex elbowed Kara and nudged her just as she was about to take a mouthful, leaving her with gravy smeared across her cheek.

‘I’m sure it’s not too different here to most towns. And I’m perhaps not the best person to ask, people don’t rush to tell me the town gossip.’ Kara wiped the gravy from her face and scowled at Alex before turning to face Jon.

‘Well you’re a businessman Mr Johns, you probably know some things the town’s gossip doesn’t.’

‘I don’t know about that,’ he chuckled. ‘There’s a saloon, you’ve probably already seen it. You might learn some things there.’

‘Oh, I learnt some things alright.’

‘You went drinking without me?’ Alex looked at Kara in offended shock.

‘I had to, you were busy dying.’ Kara shot back. ‘There a church in town?’

‘There is. On the small hill behind the saloon. Serves as the school the rest of the week.’

‘Kara told me there’s no doctor in town, that right?’ Jon nodded at Alex.

‘Closest medicine man is in Plastino City, about twenty miles West of here. And I don’t put much stock in him. It’s a relief to have you in town Doctor Danvers.’

‘Alex, please… I’ll also accept Doc.’

‘So, who _is_ the town gossip?’ Kara chimed in. Jon smiled fondly as he thought.

‘I would think young Winn Schott holds the most secrets, he might be willing to share them with an upstanding citizen such as yourself.’ Kara nodded in mock seriousness. ‘He’s the town farrier so he overhears a lot of conversations while people wait.’

‘Excellent, our horses need to be reshod.’ Kara jumped to her feet, letting her metal spoon clank against her empty plate. ‘Come on Alex. It’s time for a morning stroll.’

‘Let me finish my breakfast first.’ Kara’s arms folded across her chest.

‘But you’re so slow!’ Alex’s eyes twinkled as she slowed her movements down to a painful pace and watched Kara squirm through every slow mouthful. ‘Aleeeeex!’ Jon laughed quietly and Alex winked at him. As soon as Alex’s spoon hit the plate Kara shoved the soft familiar poncho roughly down over Alex’s head. ‘Let’s gooooo!’ Alex ran fingers through her hair and neatened it before settling the wide brim of her hat over it.

Kara practically dragged Alex down the stairs and out the door. She took in a giant lungful of air and sighed contentedly at the sun while Alex straightened out her poncho. Kara turned to face Alex and adjusted her hat nervously.

‘I can’t believe I’m really doing this.’ Kara’s words came out softer than she had planned but she knew Alex wouldn’t think she was weak or vulnerable.

‘Doing what?’

‘Being a sheriff. And we’re gonna get you somewhere to be a doctor too.’ Alex smiled at Kara and started towards their horses. ‘Come on, you could look a bit more excited Alex.’

‘I think you’ve got excited covered for the both of us.’ Kara’s eyes crinkled at the corners as her smile grew wider.

‘Sure do.’ She leapt into the air and clicked her heels together. ‘Let’s get Krypto some new shoes.’

‘And Gertrude.’

‘Yes, and Gertrude. Very important.’ They began to lead their horses through town. ‘I didn’t tell you about the grumpy saloon lady yesterday, did I?’

‘No, you didn’t. Please tell me you haven’t been starting fights already.’

‘I wasn’t even firing at her!’

‘What?!’

‘It wasn’t my fault. I had to stand my ground and show em I’m as good as any man, if not better. And the next thing I know this… this… Goddess is pointing a gun at me and trying to tell me what to do.’

‘Goddess?’

‘… Well, I’m not sure how else to describe her. I ain’t never seen a lady so pretty before, looked like she’d been carved from marble. Anyway, she was very grumpy. And I think she’s got a problem with authority, so I just know she’s gonna cause trouble.’

‘Do you think there’ll be a time when you don’t charge in head first?’ Alex sighed.

‘Nope, hardest part of me,’ she tapped the side of her head just under the brim of her hat. ‘Gotta hit em with the hard stuff or they’ll just get back up.’ Alex laughed and shook her head. Kara looked ahead and momentarily paused.

‘How diplomatic are you feeling today Alex?’

‘Well, I’ve had a good nights sleep on a bed, I’ve been fed and my sister is miraculously still alive. I can be polite today.’

‘Good.’

‘Why?’

‘You’re about to meet the Goddess of Trouble.’ Kara saw a hurried conversation passing between her new foe and a stranger.

‘Sheriff.’ A surly voice shot out of perfect red lips. Alex stiffened at Kara’s side, unimpressed by Kara’s “Goddess”. Which is not to say she wasn’t impressed, she was definitely impressed when her eyes raked over the tall, dark and gorgeous woman accompanying Trouble.

 ‘Glad to see I won’t be held at gunpoint every time we meet Miss…?’ Kara’s toes were, metaphorically, still a little tender from where they’d been stepped on the night before. But peace was always her first choice, then came the head first charge. So, she held out her hand with a friendly smile. It was accepted, eventually.

‘Lena is fine. This is my friend Sam Arias.’ Kara had travelled around extensively with Alex, this wasn’t her first rodeo by a long shot. But Sam Arias… that was a name to fear and worship at once. She’d heard stories from many a lawman about the fiercest bounty hunter in the West. Not all of them would admit she was, because she was a… _she_. But Kara knew the stories of rival bounty hunters trying very unsuccessfully to knock her down a peg.

‘The bounty hunter? Crimany! I hear if you drew any faster you’d catch up to yesterday.’ Kara honestly felt like if they’d tried to hang her today, the rope would have broken. This was beyond lucky. She finally gets the chance to be a real law-woman and it just happens to be in a town that her gun toting idol seems to be at least familiar with. Sam smiled politely and nodded at Kara. She glanced at Alex and Kara realised she still hadn’t introduced herself, or Alex.

‘Oh shoot, I’m Sheriff Danvers. This is my sister Doctor Danvers.’ Alex laughed nervously under Sam’s gaze and Kara’s brow furrowed trying to figure out why.

‘Well, Doc, Sheriff, a pleasure to formally meet you. But we’ve got to be heading out.’ Kara couldn’t find the words she wanted to say so simply stood dumbfounded as Lena nodded and saddled up, while Sam took particular care to tip her hat toward Alex and gallop after Lena.

After a minute or so of awed silence a small sigh of a word slipped out of Alex’s mouth.

‘Wow.’ The sound snapped Kara out of her daze and she excitedly bounced on her toes.

‘I know. I kind of thought Sam Arias would be the sort who could strut sitting down, but she was so … -‘

‘-Perfect.’ Alex sighed and Kara laughed.

‘Well I was going to say cool and collected, but I guess we were admiring different things…’ Kara nudged Alex gently with her elbow.

‘Howdy ladies. Shod your horses?’ An eager chap with a brown leather apron sprung up beside the Danvers sisters.

‘Howdy, Mr Schott right? They say you’re the man for the job.’ Kara thrust out her hand in greeting and Winn enthusiastically accepted.

‘That I am. I can shoe your horse fast as small-town gossip.’

‘Funny you should say that, because I might also be here for some such small-town gossip.’ Winn smiled knowingly at Kara.

‘You can call me Winn. People think I’m just a farrier, but I like to think of myself as a bit of a tinkerer. I’m not just the horse shoe guy, you got _anything_ mechanical needs fixing I’m your man.’ Winn’s eyes darted down to Kara’s pistol, holstered at her hip. ‘Is that a Colt 1851 Navy?’

‘Good eye. I’m Sheriff Danvers, though just Sheriff is fine. This is my sister, Doctor Danvers. She probably won’t break you if you call her Doc.’ Alex rolled her eyes and held out a hand to Winn.

‘Nice to meet you.’ She said, eyeing Winn’s workshop.

‘Likewise,’ Winn said as he started to work on re-shoeing the Danvers’ horses.

‘Got some interesting tools here for a farrier.’ Alex started to walk slowly around and Winn smiled proudly.

‘Like I said, I’m not just a farrier. I could take apart the sheriff’s gun and reassemble it in less than a minute. Of course I wouldn’t want to take a beauty like that apart though…’ Winn stuttered nervously as he trailed off because Alex had started to glare at him. ‘What about you Doc, you got a gun?’

‘I do. And you won’t see it until I’ve cause to point it at you.’ Winn dried his sweaty palms on his trousers and looked to Kara for help. She took pity on him.

‘What can you tell me about Binder?’ Winn sighed thankfully and rifled through his database of Binder knowledge.

‘Well it’s a small town but it’s growing, fast. There’s talk of a railway heading this way even. Though money flow in the town has dried up some over the past couple of years since the mine closed.’

‘Gold ran out?’

‘I don’t think so. Used to be owned and operated by the Luthor family, the son Lex was in charge. And let’s just say gold rush fever got to him. He caused a tunnel collapse that killed twenty-three people and the mine’s been closed since.’

‘What happened to Lex?’ Winn looked up nervously and swallowed thickly. Kara put on her best imploring face, complete with pout.

‘The… Uh- The people of Binder weren’t exactly happy with Lex after that. Decided he needed to face justice…’

‘Mob justice?’ Alex questioned. Winn glanced at her and back to Kara, who made him less nervous.

‘Yeah. They took him out to the desert, tied him to a boulder and left him there. Don’t think anyone’s even been out to bury him.’

‘What about the rest of his family?’ Kara said in a state of slight shock.

‘Well, old man Lionel died before any of that even happened. Mrs Luthor headed for Plastino and runs the Luthor Trading Company over there now. There was rumour she was the one who shot the old sheriff, but no one can prove it. And Lex’s sister… well you’ve met her, Lena.’ A couple of thoughts clicked into place in Kara’s mind like a gun cocking. The first was that Lena’s mistrust and dislike of authority now made sense. The second was that the people of Binder might be more trouble than the Goddess of Trouble.

‘So people think old lady Luthor killed the last sheriff?’ Alex asked coolly.

‘She was pretty mad when she found out what had happened to Lex, said some things that didn’t sit well with folks… understandable if you ask me, but it definitely had a fairy tale witch villain vibe to it.’

‘And no one thinks Lex’s sister might have had a hand in it?’ Alex had folded her arms across her chest and was almost interrogating Winn. He audibly gulped and stuttered briefly.

‘Lena? People don’t like her much and probably some would be glad to blame her, people like to blame Luthors. But honestly, most of the time I think she’s probably too drunk to shoot straight, never mind get away with murder.’

‘Gosh, this is one _dramatic_ town.’ Kara said, trying to ease the building tension and Winn chuckled.

‘I guess it is.’

‘All that, _and_ Sam Arias gets her horses shod here?’

‘Well if the town attracts drama, it follows that the Bloody Hunter would get drawn in right?’ Winn said wryly as he finished up with Kara’s horse and moved on to Gertrude.

‘Haven’t heard that moniker before.’ Kara said, slightly taken aback. Alex tried to feign disinterest by running her hands over Winn’s array of hammers, but Kara knew she was paying close attention to what he could be about to say.

‘A well earned one if the stories are to be believed.’ Winn said without glancing up or thinking much of it.

‘What kind of stories?’ Kara enquired.

‘The kind of stories that make you the social outcast whose only friend is the town’s other outcast.’

‘Be more specific and I’ll let you look at my Colt Navy.’ Winn’s head shot up and he smiled gleefully.

‘You got it. There’s a lot of stories about her bounty hunting escapades, ranging from a simple _she walked into a bar, shot up the place and walked out with her target_ to the very much uglier _massacred an entire town_.’ Alex gave up on disinterest and sat herself on one of the work benches to listen intently.

‘Tell me one you think is true.’ Kara suggested.

‘Alright, I heard a few years ago there was a mercenary caravan that had been paid to help some rich guy escape justice. The guy had killed his wife or something similar and all the evidence was pointed at him, so he takes his money, hires a bunch of thugs for protection and high tails it outta town. It’s not long before Sam is told about the bounty and she figures out which route this cowardly killer took. Story goes she ambushed them, killed all the guards, even the ones that surrendered. The trail was red with blood for weeks after, til it rained. When she returned to collect the bounty, she dumped the guys head on the sheriff’s desk and asked for her reward without blinking.’

‘Might have put me off my lunch if she’d put a head on my desk.’

‘Might have?’ Winn asked dismayed.

‘Depends how hungry I was.’ Alex snickered from behind Winn.

‘You ladies sure don’t seem all that squeamish about this kind of thing.’

‘Wouldn’t be a very good doctor if I fainted at the sight of blood, would I?’

‘I just have a very large appetite, it’d take a lot more than that to stop me eating.’ Kara said, patting her stomach.

‘What makes you think that story is true?’ Alex asked, looking pointedly at Winn.

‘I had drunk a whole bottle of courage one day and asked her to her face if it was true. Not something I would have done sober, I must say. She just smiled at me. No denial. No horror. Just smiled. It was creepy.’

The Danvers sisters looked at each other and shrugged. It was creepy, but they couldn’t deny carrying a head was probably far easier than the whole body. Winn wiped his hands down his apron and wiggled his eyebrows at Kara.

‘All done. Can I see the gun now?’ Kara tugged her pistol out of place and just as it landed in Winn’s hand Alex spoke.

‘You even think about turning it on my sister and my barrel will be aimed at your head so fast you’ll wonder if I’ve been pointing it at you this whole time.’ Winn gulped and held the gun reverently.

‘Ivory? It’s beautiful. What’s that carved in the grip?’

‘Family crest.’ Kara said, hoping she wouldn’t have to go into any more detail.

‘Ooh a family heirloom. Though it’s an 1851 so it’s only twenty years old at most… only passed from one generation so far?’ Kara nodded. ‘Can I fire it?’

‘No.’

‘Right, fair enough.’ Winn startled slightly at the short answer and handed the gun back.


	5. Patient

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudos guys, it's feeding my spirit.

A loud clapping echoed around the room and Lena startled awake. The hangover was the same as usual but at least she wasn’t in a ditch.

‘You told me to wake you up early Miss Luthor.’ Lena muttered darkly about her past self and rubbed at her temple.

‘Sam awake yet?’

‘I’m not running a hotel here Miss Luthor. You want a wake-up call for your guests, you got to get yourself up and do it,’ Jess replied tersely. Lena sat up and wiped the faint line of dribble from her cheek.

‘You’re just scared of Sam,’ Lena yawned. ‘She’s not going to kill you, you know?’

‘Maybe not when she’s conscious and sober. But hungover and half asleep? Who knows what she’ll do?’ Lena laughed at Jess’ flustered affront and watched her storm away. She got up, splashed her face with cold water and started to put herself together. When Lena went to wake Sam, she found her already up and dressed. Sam sat on her windowsill cradling a mug of hot tea and gazing across the horizon.

‘Looks like a beautiful day to rob my mother,’ Lena said quietly as she approached the window. Sam’s face twisted with a crooked smile as she slowly blinked out of her thoughts to look at Lena. ‘What’s got you looking so lost? You’re normally happy as a pig in mud before a heist.’

Sam sighed softly and fixed her eyes back on the horizon.

‘I got a reputation you know?’

‘I had heard, yes.’ Lena smiled in confusion.

‘You think there’s ever been someone like me who got to have the happy ever after?’ Lena moved closer to Sam and rested her chin on top of Sam’s head. Lena gazed out the window and thought carefully.

‘I think that you wouldn’t want it so much if they had. You’re a trailblazer. You don’t do what others have done. I think you’ll be the first one like you to get the happy ever after if you go after it.’ Sam smiled into her mug of tea and leant back into Lena.

‘I’m glad you’re a social pariah you know?’

‘Gee thanks.’

‘Well, you think snooty Lena Luthor would have been my friend?’

‘I think there wouldn’t have been any kind of Lena Luthor after snooty Lena Luthor if you hadn’t been my friend. And not just because of your daring rescue.’

‘You’re very profound this morning.’

‘I might be profound every morning. It’s hard to say, I’m not normally awake.’ Lena kissed the top of Sam’s head squeezed her shoulder. ‘Let’s get going before we miss our chance to piss off my mother.’

The pair of them quietly collected together their things and slipped out of the saloon before the rest of the town began to stir. They saddled up their horses and slowly rode away from Binder. They travelled a little over three miles without speaking another word, simply enjoying each other’s company. They found the narrow trail running between two ragged pillars of stone that they had decided on the day before and tied their horses out of sight.

Lena began to construct a wheel wedge from two short but sturdy pieces of wood and a length of rope. Sam started to change into her bulkier and less distinguishable clothing.

‘You want to talk about your happily ever after?’ Lena kept her eyes focused on her knots but out her peripherals she saw Sam shrug on a man’s coat and fasten it loosely.

‘I don’t know… I’m not really sure what my happily ever after would look like.’

‘Shall I assume it’s not bounty hunting until you die?’ Sam smiled half-heartedly and switched boots.

‘I always kind of liked the idea of having a ranch…’ She started to scuff a small trench into the sandy soil, straight across the trail. ‘Reign would have somewhere to graze, I’d have a real home and the cattle would need me. It’d be nice to be needed.’ Lena lay down the rope and wood in the trench Sam had created, leaving either end of the rope sticking out at the sides of the path.

‘I need you,’ Lena said in a matter of fact manner. Sam smiled at her as she started to cover the rope over with dirt.

‘That’s different. You need me the same way I need you. We’ve got nobody else to watch our backs and now we’re comfortable with our friendship. But we don’t depend on each other. If I die I expect you to wail for weeks and wear the blackest lipstick you can find. And after, you’ll pick yourself up and keep going.’ Midway through changing her clothes Lena paused and a ridiculous grin spread across her face.

‘You’re the sappiest most oblivious romantic there is Samantha Arias. You aren’t talking about being needed by someone. You want to be _loved_ by someone. Love love. Not just I love you like a sister love.’ Sam looked up from where she had been toeing sand across their road restructuring with wet eyes.

‘I guess I am.’ Lena paced towards her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

‘And you’ll have it. I know it in my bones.’ Lena gently rubbed a palm across Sam’s shoulder blades.

‘How? People like us don’t exactly shout it from the roof tops… and if she did, you think she’d look twice at “The Bloody Hunter”?’ A tear rolled down Sam’s cheek and she was quick to wipe it away.

‘I don’t have faith in much in this world Sam, but I have faith, and its marrow deep. I have faith that there’s someone who’ll see past the rumours and stories, and she’s just waiting to meet you.’ Lena kissed the side of Sam’s head and wiped the tears from Sam’s cheeks with her thumbs. ‘You’ve got too much love to go to waste.’ Sam smiled and it brightened even her red rimmed eyes.

‘Let’s finish getting ready so I can vent my frustrations on your mother’s minions.’ Lena let out a laugh that joyously bounced off the rocky outcroppings.

‘Let’s.’ Lena adjusted her holster, checked both pistols and tied her bandana around her neck, ready to cover her face. Sam patted her sidearm and loaded her rifle before sliding it to rest on her back. She winked at Lena as the sound of the wagons rumbled in the distance. Sam wrapped a black wild rag around her face and looked pointedly at Lena to cover her face.

They both ducked out of sight and waited patiently for the perfect moment to pounce. The horses passed by and before the wagon’s driver knew what was happening Sam and Lena both pulled on different ends of the rope. The wooden planks shot into the air and jammed into the wheels of the wagon, cracking one of them and jerking the cart to a stop. Lena and Sam strained under the pull but held out until they had formed the blockade. The following wagon was prevented from going any further.

The escorting mercenaries hopped out and drew their weapons, just not fast enough. Lena struck the driver with the butt of one of her guns while she shot the pistol out of another man’s hand with her other gun. Meanwhile Sam shot a taunting hole through two men’s hats and was gleefully grinning behind her scarf as she threatened them with her rifle.

Lena pushed the driver off the wagon and used the high ground to aim down both barrels at any remaining men not currently browning their pants. Two men dropped their weapons, threw their hands up in the air and bolted away. One man cowered behind a wagon and begged for mercy and the last conscious man made a mistake. He twitched. Made a move to fire off a shot at Lena and before he could line up his shot he was knocked backwards by a blast from Sam’s rifle.

Lena sighed and shook her head before jumping down. She took slow, loud steps towards the last man. She pointed her gun at him as he crouched on the ground with tears in his eyes, still pleading for his life. She waved her pistol at him and waited for him to run. Lena spun her guns on her index fingers and smugly slotted them into their holsters. She tugged down her bandana, flicked up the brim of her hat and wiggled her eyebrows at Sam with huge grin on her face.

Sam slung the rifle back around her torso and laughed as she pulled her scarf down.

‘That was fun. Not much of a challenge, but fun all the same.’

‘It’s weird how much poker and gunfights have in common, yet poker just doesn’t have the same thrill if there’s no challenge. That’s weird right?’ Lena queried. Sam tilted her head to one side and her brow furrowed.

‘Must have something to do with the risk of death.’ Sam shrugged and launched herself into the wagon to take stock of their spoils. ‘Lot of food in here.’

‘Good. More useful than anything else we could have taken.’ Lena checked the other wagon and realised the minimal guards had not been a bluff. There was nothing in the second wagon and they had only gained one wagon of goods for their trouble. ‘Nothing in this one.’ Lena swung her fist at the canvas covering and grunted in frustration.

‘It was still fun. And your mother is still going to be pissed. She only has three emotions after all.’

‘Pissed, disappointed and … are you sure there’s a third?’ Lena called out to Sam.

‘Yeah, you forgot disgusted.’ Sam emerged from the first wagon and jumped to the ground before offering Lena a hand down. Lena laughed abruptly.

‘I just remembered the time she caught me and Roulette.’ Sam let out a howl of laughter.

‘I don’t know whether to laugh harder that you were ever that close to Roulette or that your mother saw. Though I know I’m disappointed I didn’t see her face.’ Lena shoved Sam gently and smiled.

‘Are we gonna move it all into the rear wagon or are we gonna fix the busted wheel?’

‘Well, oh wise and gifted friend of mine. What did we bring the wagon jack for if we weren’t going to use it?’ Sam said as she walked backwards from Lena and bent to pick up the jack. Lena rolled her eyes and moved to help Sam boost the wagon off the ground and change the wheel. Helpfully Lillian had thought to provide them with a spare wheel.

‘Surprised these horses didn’t bolt when the gunfight started.’

‘Me too actually. Glad they didn’t though, it’s such a pain chasing a wagon down, off trail.’ As Sam lifted the broken wheel out of place it slipped from her grasp and the splintered wood carved into her hand. ‘Fuck!’

‘Shit, let me take a look.’

‘No, it’s fine. You finish putting the new wheel in place and I’ll bandage it up.’ Lena begrudgingly assented and soon the wagon was ready to get going. Sam had packed up their equipment and tossed it inside the wagon before Lena put her foot down.

‘You’re going back to Binder to let the lovely Doctor Danvers look at that.’ Sam opened her mouth to speak but Lena waved her hand and refused to let her. ‘Change your clothes and go back to Binder, I can deliver the goods on my own and you can try for quietly mysterious again…’

‘Ugh.’ She started to change clothes. ‘You’re not going to let me forget that are you?’

‘Not a chance,’ Lena said with a laugh.

When she had finished changing Sam fetched her horse and called back to Lena.

‘Don’t get caught, I just busted my hand so I might not be able to rescue you. And I don’t know where to find black lipstick for the mourning process.’ Lena slapped at Reign’s rump and yelled.

‘Yah!’

‘Hey! I’ll get you back for that!’ Sam yelled as Reign jerked forward and sprinted along.

When Sam made it back to Binder she hitched Reign outside Jon’s store and cautiously poked her head inside. Jon looked up from his sketches and smiled politely at her.

‘Could you tell me where I could find Doc Danvers?’ She waved her injured and poorly bandaged hand in the air and Jon jumped to his feet.

‘Of course. Come with me.’ Jon locked his shop and led Sam upstairs to the kitchen he shared with the Danvers sisters. ‘Just sit there.’ He carefully seated her at the table and gently knocked on Alex’s door.

‘Miss Alex, there’s someone here in need of a doctor.’ There was a soft thump, a hurried rustling and then a sharp creak as Alex burst out of the bedroom with her medical bag in hand. Her eyes landed on Sam and she froze.

‘Hello,’ Sam said with a touch of nervousness and she smiled lightly. ‘Think you could help me out Doc?’ She laid her hand palm up on the table. Alex shook herself back into movement and plopped her bag down next to Sam’s hand.

‘Yes! I mean, yes… that’s what I’m here for.’

‘I’ll leave you to it, I’ve got a shop to run.’ Jon said softly as he slipped back downstairs.

 Alex gingerly unwrapped the blood-stained bandages and focused on the injury to avoid meeting Sam’s gaze. Which was fortunate for Sam because she couldn’t have stopped admiring Alex’s focused expression if she had wanted to.

‘What happened?’ Sam cleared her throat quietly before trying to think of a good answer. Remembering that part truths made the best lies she opened her mouth to speak.

‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want. It was rude to ask.’

‘No, no, it’s fine. I was out for a ride when I came across a trader with a busted wagon wheel. I offered to help and ended end jamming the broken thing into my hand.’

‘Well, that’ll teach you to go playing good Samaritan.’ Alex finally looked up at her and smiled. Sam’s heart beat hard against her chest and she winced slightly. ‘Shit, I’m sorry, did that hurt?’ Everything in Sam’s head screamed _Yes! I’ve never fallen so hard or fast in my life!_ But she held it together and shook her head.

‘I’ve been through a lot worse than this. You just do your thing and I trust my hand will be good as new in no time.’ Alex’s eyes glimmered and she smiled shyly as she started to clean Sam’s wound.

Alex’s fingers gently resting on her wrist, holding her hand still, sent a tingling sensation up her arm and she suddenly needed a distraction.

‘How are you liking Binder so far Doc?’

‘I’m a little bored, truth be told. You’re my first patient and there’s not much entertainment in town.’

‘I promise not to repeat that to the locals. They’d be mighty offended.’ Sam winked at Alex, who blushed furiously at the sight and refocused on her work.

‘Repeat away, I don’t think the locals are going to like me either way.’

‘Oh.’ Surprise tinged Sam’s voice and she smiled wide. ‘You and I are going to get along famously Doc.’

‘Do you only befriend people the locals hate?’ Alex raised a brow and Sam laughed.

‘Well actually, I befriend the bad girls. There tends to be a lot of overlap in those circles though.’

‘You think I’m a bad girl?’ She carefully plucked splinters from the torn skin and tenderly wiped the dirt away. Sam had to bite her lip to stop herself blurting out the first innuendo-soaked sentence that came to mind.

‘I think you’re different. Think you’re smarter and more interesting than most girls. I think you could try harder to fit in, but you don’t want to, you’ve got a little bit of a rebellious streak. That kind of thing will get you the “bad girl” label, Doc.’

Alex’s eyes flicked up to meet Sam’s admiring gaze and quickly hurried back to her work as her cheeks just seemed to keep getting warmer.

‘That’s quite the observation for our second meeting. Think you’ve got me all figured out?’

‘Not by a long shot. Just like to flatter my doctors so they do their best work.’

‘You must be about the only person in Binder that thinks I know what I’m doing. Besides my sister anyway.’

‘I’d trust a woman over a man any day. No men in my life I can trust and two women, you do the maths on that one.’

‘Is Lena Luthor one of them?’ Sam heard a slight spike of disdain in Alex’s voice as she said Lena’s name. Her heart cracked just a fraction, if Alex had learnt to mistrust the Luthor name already she had probably learnt to fear Sam’s name.

‘She is. Lena and Reign.’ Alex’s brows raised.

‘Reign?’

‘My horse.’ Sam laughed at herself and rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand. Alex stood up and rinsed her cloth out before grabbing a bottle of whisky from the side.

‘You’re going to want to down a bit of this before I continue.’ Sam sighed and accepted the bottle. She took two mouthfuls and handed it back. Alex placed a pad of folded soft material over the bottle top and tipped it upside down briefly. ‘This is definitely going to sting.’

Sam braced herself and almost completely controlled the flinch when Alex pressed the alcohol-soaked rag to her open wound. The whisky sent sharp stinging jolts of pain through Sam’s hand, but Alex was taking such care to gently clean the wound she refused to let the pain show. Alex deftly wrapped a fresh bandage around Sam’s hand and tied it neatly in place.

‘There. Try to keep it clean and come back if there’s any problems with it.’ Alex smiled pleasantly at her and Sam nodded nervously.

‘That was my best doctor experience. I hope you’ll be sticking around in Binder, Doc.’

‘As long as Kara’s got a job here then I’ll be here.’

‘And Kara is your sister?’

‘Yeah, sorry. Sheriff. It’s weird calling her that.’

‘She normally robbing banks and starting fights?’

‘No, well… she _does_ get in a lot of fights,’ Alex snorted. ‘Kara’s always been on the right side of the law. It’s just she’s my little shit of a sister. And now she’s also apparently in charge.’

‘You’re her big sister and you’re the one she goes to for medical help. I think we both know you’re the one in charge here.’ Alex let out a roar of laughter that sent a shiver down Sam’s spine.

‘Just don’t tell Kara.’ Alex winked and started to gather her kit back together.

‘How much do I owe you Doc?’

‘Oh, don’t worry about it.’

‘Hmm, you seem like the type I’m not going to be able to argue with.’

‘You’re not wrong,’ Alex smugly said as she closed her bag up.

‘So, how about I buy you drinks the next time you’re in the saloon?’

‘Deal.’ Alex stuck out her hand and nervously giggled when she realised it would have met with Sam’s injured hand. Sam confidently grabbed her other hand and shook on it.

‘Doc.’ She tipped her hat and sauntered back downstairs.


	6. Smarter Than She Looks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for the comments and kudos, you're all making it very easy to keep plugging away at this.

Kara sat with her heels resting on her desk and her hat tipped forward to shade her eyes from the morning sun. She was still enjoying the satisfaction of a good meal and figured Binder wouldn’t fall apart if she wasn’t looking for a five-minute cat nap.

‘They said being a sheriff is a man’s job, but to look at you I can’t see a difference. Same lazy attitude to work as all the men I’ve seen sheriff this town.’ A cutting voice interrupted Kara just as she was about to fall asleep. Her feet dropped off the desk and she straightened her hat quickly. She rose to her feet and felt the sudden need to salute. She couldn’t explain that need but it was there, so she gripped her wrist firmly behind her back.

‘Morning ma’am.’

‘Well at least you’re more polite than the last one.’ Kara’s eyes twinkled as she flashed a smile at the perfectly put together lady in front of her. She seemed the picture of a Victorian woman, all she was missing was one of the little parasols Kara had seen in the paintings.

‘Sheriff Danvers, how can I help you ma’am?’ Kara checked her hand was clean, wiped it down her side and offered it out. There was slight affront on the woman’s face as she considered Kara’s hand. She held out her own hand palm down with her fingers pinched, Kara shrugged lightly, shook the proffered hand awkwardly and waited.

‘Cat Grant, they call me _the_ Cattle Baroness.’ Kara nervously chuckled and tipped her hat gently.

‘Sounds likes a mighty fine title ma’am. How can a lazy sheriff assist you on this glorious day?’ That had certainly come out sassier than Kara had planned but once she started rolling she felt as though she had a right to the sass. Cat narrowed her eyes at Kara. She seemed to be inspecting Kara’s very soul and Kara could definitely see the similarities between Cat and her feline namesake. She had the superiority and air of judgement down pat.

‘You acquainted yourself with the local issues yet?’

‘It seems to be a town with a lot of issues, I know some of them but I shouldn’t be surprised if you told me a new one.’ Kara was positive that Cat had given her a slight nod of approval.

‘What do you know about Morgan Edge or his rail company?’

‘I know there is a rail company goes by the name of Cutting Edge Travel. Anymore than that, you’ll have to enlighten me.’ Kara rested back against her desk and folded her arms across her chest. Cat must have taken that as an invitation to get comfortable because she screeched a chair across the floor and settled herself gracefully.

‘You’ve heard of his company because he’s a ruthless business man who won’t let anything stand in his way. He owns the fastest growing railroad in the West. He’s got his sights set on Binder for his next expansion. And my land is what stands in his way.’ Kara’s head tilted back in understanding as the pieces started to slot together in her mind.

‘Kind of man like that can certainly cause some trouble.’

‘Yes, he can.’

‘How much of your livestock have you lost so far?’ Cat’s brow raised with an expression that could have signified how impressed she was, though Kara wasn’t sure.

‘Little under a third. They’re either rustled or slaughtered.’

‘Got any proof he’s doing it?’ Cat’s lips pursed and Kara knew the answer to her question.

‘His men are loud as two skeletons dancing on a tin roof Sheriff. I always know they’re out there but I can only do so much to stop him and he’s not stupid enough to visit me himself. I can sure up my fences, but as fast as I do that he’s blocked my water supplies or paid my farmhands to stop working. I need more than protection, I need him scared to make a move.’

‘Ma’am I’m an honest woman of the law, I’ll look into this for you. But I won’t be breaking the law for you.’ The disapproval was back on Cat’s face as she rose to her feet.

‘Very well. Good day Sheriff.’  

‘Want me to come take a look around your property?’

‘Hardly seems much point. You won’t find a calling card from Edge pinned to the fence post.’ Kara bowed her head and knocked the toe of her boot into the ground.

‘Like I said, I’ll look into this for you.’ Cat nodded toward her and left as quietly as she had arrived.

Kara chewed on her lip as she thought about how to proceed, eyes to the ground and arms folded tight across her chest. The shine of her badge caught the sunlight and an idea started to form. She pushed away from her desk and purposefully strode out of the office.

It was a short walk back to Jon’s store, just as she was opening the door Sam Arias stepped out.

‘Sheriff.’ Sam tipped her hat and Kara noticed a clean bandage wrapped around her hand.

‘Bounty give you trouble?’ Sam glanced to her hand, gave Kara a half smile and walked by.

‘Bounties never give me trouble Sheriff.’

It was a strange feeling to meet her idol and have her turn out to be as effortlessly cool as Kara had hoped. She shook herself out of her thoughts, picked her jaw up and skipped up the stairs to find Alex.

‘Alex? You home?’

‘You got somewhere else for me to be?’ Alex called from where she had been putting her medical bag away. Kara skidded into the room and started searching through their belongings.

‘No, sorry. Got somewhere else for me to be.’

‘What you looking for?’

‘My sleeping roll.’

‘Didn’t realised you enjoyed the comforts of the floor that much Kar.’ Kara rolled her eyes and triumphantly pulled her sleeping roll out of her chest of junk.

‘Gotta head to Plastino. Don’t want to wait so I’ll start heading now and camp out along the way. I don’t want to push Krypto too hard.’

‘I’d offer to keep you company but…’

‘I know, if there’s no bed it’s a no go.’ Kara jammed a few small items into her bed roll and slung it over her shoulder. ‘Probably best you stay anyway, I saw you already had a patient.’ Kara beamed excitedly and Alex looked sheepishly about the room.

‘It was nice to actually put my training to use. I feel like I’m going to forget it all sometimes if I don’t do something.’ Kara slung an arm around Alex and pulled her in for a half hug.

‘Like I said, I’m gonna get you somewhere to practice. And people will have to take you seriously now you’ve patched up “The Bloody Hunter”, lived to tell the tale too.’ Kara chuckled but the comment just seemed to make Alex squirm with discomfort.

‘You really think she does the things they say she does?’

‘Don’t know. Maybe, maybe not.’

‘Such commitment.’ Alex rolled her eyes and pushed Kara away. ‘Go on, shove off to Plastino.’

‘Love you.’

‘Love you too.’ They smiled cheerfully at each other before Kara pranced out the building. She strapped her bed roll to Krypto’s saddle and grabbed his reins to lead him over to Winn’s forge.

‘Winn!’ She called merrily over the sound of his hammering.

‘Sheriff. What can I do for you today?’

‘Can you tell me anything about Morgan Edge?’ Winn angled his face skywards in thought. He tapped his finger on his chin and smacked his lips.

‘Probably not much more than rumours I’m afraid. Not the kind of guy you want to cross.’

Kara hummed thoughtfully and ran Krypto’s reins through her fingers.

‘Know of anyone who’s had business dealings with him before?’

‘Lena Luthor probably best fits that description. She bought the saloon out from under him… sort of literally, and he was not happy about it.’ Kara laughed at the idea of Lena fitting into the business world.

‘How’d she manage that?’

‘She’s smarter than her lack of sobriety would suggest. She found a loop hole in the deed papers and bought the land the saloon sits on. State judged in Lena’s favour when she took him to court for “recklessly abandoning property on her land”. I think the judge was glad of an excuse to take something away from Edge and ordered him to hand over the deed.’ A warm feeling spread in Kara’s chest, it felt a lot like pride.

‘Sounds like quite the coup. I take it the people of Binder were relieved?’

‘Not really. She’s still a Luthor so she’s none to popular herself. And she’s not done much with it, except pickle her liver since she got it.’ Then a knot of disappointment formed in her stomach. She was surprised when she worked through it and realised it wasn’t directed at Lena but the people of Binder.

‘Well, I’ve got to get going. Thanks for the information Winn, I owe you a drink sometime.’

‘Stay safe Sheriff.’

Kara enjoyed the freedom of riding through the wilderness on her trusted steed. Her golden hair flickering in the slight breeze, the soothing rhythm of Krypto’s hooves and the sun warming her face. When the sun turned into a glowing orange curve disappearing behind the horizon she started to look about for the perfect spot to camp.

There wasn’t much shelter along that part of the trail and what little she did notice was already occupied by a small native camp. She didn’t want to step on any toes, so she found a clear space to start a little campfire and spread out her roll a reasonable distance from them.

Not long after she’d settled herself down with a fistful of jerky and a tin of beans Kara caught glimpse of a lone rider galloping along the trail. The sun had almost entirely set and the light from Kara’s fire prevented her from getting a clear view of who it was. Though Kara had a feeling of familiarity that could well have been related to déjà vu.


	7. Bones We Stilled

With a cotton dry mouth Lena grumbled into consciousness. She burrowed deeper into the sheets and sighed in satisfaction. Having Sam around might have meant she got into more trouble, but it also meant there was someone to make sure she ended her night in a bed. It never seemed to matter how much they’d drunk, Sam was there to mother her and stop her waking up in a ditch.

By the time she’d gotten back the night before she’d found Sam with her hand neatly bandaged and well into a drinking contest with Binder’s resident bigfoot. Lena knew Sam was going to be hurting when she woke her up, unfortunately they still had to tidy up their equipment and cover their tracks.

She sat up at the edge of her bed with eyes still firmly shut. She scratched her scalp and ran her fingers through her hair before rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes. She dragged herself over to her basin and shocked herself awake with the cold water. It didn’t take long for her to compose herself after that, and soon she was quietly opening Sam’s door with a mug of steaming tea in her hand.

‘Sam,’ she whispered. ‘You might have gotten yourself in over your head last night.’

Sam muttered from under the sheets and pulled them down to look at Lena with one appraising eye. Lena made sure Sam could see the mug in her hand and it lured her out of her cocoon.

‘Couldn’t you have challenged someone closer to your own weight?’

‘He wasn’t that big.’

‘Bruce has gotta sit down in shifts Sam…’ Lena kept her voice hushed and soothing as she gently ran a hand through Sam’s hair. Sam began to twist and rest on her elbow, sitting up was still too far to move. She gratefully accepted the tea and sighed into her first sip.

‘I wanted a challenge.’ Lena let out a breathy laugh.

‘You think it was worth how your feeling now?’ Sam squinted in consideration and took another tentative sip of the hot liquid.

‘Maybe not. Haven’t felt this awful since Metropolis.’

‘Well that had more to do with you claiming you could climb the church bell tower than the drink,’ she said with fondness marking her face.

‘If you think about it, the only reason I fell off the roof was because I was drunk enough to try it. So really the booze is always to blame.’ Silence fell between them as Lena got up to start collecting up Sam’s clothes from where she had obviously discarded them with abandon the night before.

‘Everything go fine after I left yesterday?’ Sam said after a while.

‘Who do you think you’re talking to? Of course,’ Lena replied with a smile on her face.

‘And the equipment?’

‘Needs putting back where it lives. Which is why you need to put yourself together while I find us something to eat.’ Sam rolled her head back and almost spilled her tea.

‘Bacon will be involved right?’

‘How else do you deal with a hangover?’

Sam smiled, downed the rest of her tea and began to get up. Lena slipped away and clattered into the kitchen.

Once they’d eaten breakfast and recovered somewhat, they gathered up their gear, slung it over their saddles and began their ride out of town.

‘You still want to do that poker tournament?’ Lena asked as they rode side by side toward the Luthor mine.

‘Do I still want to take the money from obnoxious city slickers? Hmm… nah.’ Sam threw a wink in Lena’s direction and laughed at her rolled eyes.

‘I was just thinking… I don’t exactly make a lot of money with the saloon, an-‘

‘You’d make plenty of money from the saloon if we weren’t your biggest customers.’ Lena muttered darkly in response but had to agree.

‘I’m just trying to say, I think I could run it better. Maybe we could make the saloon something more than a place to drink. And if I took the money from some, shall we say less than stellar characters, well I wouldn’t complain,’ Lena contemplated.

‘Binder’s poker _has_ been less than challenging lately. The people here are… is it fair to say useless?’

‘The phrase _wheelbarrow with rope handles_ springs to mind,’ Lena drawled and Sam couldn’t help the full bellied laugh from bursting out.

‘Alright, you see what you can do about luring in the whales and I’ll put my name and it’s many monikers behind the tournament,’ Sam said as she hitched Reign to the faded wooden sign at the mine. Lena hopped down and did the same.

‘You sure “The Bloody Hunter” won’t scare them away?’ Lena smiled as she bundled up their belongings and dragged them toward the tunnel.

‘Weirdly it seems to attract players. I can’t decide why but if they’ve got money what do I care?’

The pair of them carefully tucked their disguises away behind the loose rocks of the mine shaft and stood for a moment in quiet contemplation.

‘If you need money… have you thought about reopening the mine?’ Lena’s face whipped around to look at Sam, a wave of anger crashed over her before it subdued, and she huffed.

‘You know I don’t need money. I just want to do something. But I’m in no hurry to find myself tied to a rock in the desert.’

‘Binder might not like your name but they’d soon shut their mouths when the money started flowing again.’

‘It’s not just what they’d think. What if it drove me just as crazy as Lex?’ Sam slung an arm around Lena and rubbed a thumb in soothing circles across her shoulder.

‘It wouldn’t. But if you don’t want to, then you know I’ve got your back. We’ll just have to set the saloon up as the state’s premier poker house.’ Lena smiled and headed back to their horses.

‘Suppose we should head back to town. Can’t really have anybody thinking I actually do anything with my life,’ Lena said drily as she slipped onto the saddle.

‘Maybe we should take a trip to Plastino together. Perfect opportunity for you to set up the poker tournament and we could have another grand adventure together,’ Sam suggested as she started Reign moving toward Binder. The distant look in Lena’s eyes began to fade and was replaced with the hint of a sparkle.

‘We do always end up with the best stories.’ She hummed in thought briefly. ‘Though they always seem to boil down to us drinking too much and you getting me into trouble.’

Sam clasped her fist in the material covering her heart and her mouth gaped open.

‘Me? Get _you_ into trouble? Who was the one that derailed the train outside of Midvale because she wanted to know how the lever mechanism on the rail switch worked?’

‘I did at least find out…’ Lena laughed and her eyes began to shine, just as Sam preferred to see them.

‘And which one of us was responsible for Smallville’s great cattle migration of 1868?’

‘That-‘ Lena pointed an accusing finger at Sam. ‘That was technically both of us.’

The pair of them made a heart-warming sight as they slowly cantered into Binder, giggling side by side about their misadventures. And it took the messenger a small while to recognise the bounty hunter in her gleeful state. The scrawny man cautiously approached their horses on foot and nervously squeaked.

‘Miss Arias?’ Her smile straightened out as she turned to look down at him.

‘That a message for me?’ She looked at the stained paper clutched in his hand and raised a brow.

‘From Plastino’s sheriff ma’am.’ He handed it over in a rush and skittered away.

‘You certainly have a way with men.’ Lena tried her best to contain her smile as she spoke but it slowly crept past her defences.

‘Got ‘em right where I want ‘em.’

‘Running away?’

‘Yep.’ Sam unfolded the paper and scanned over the words. ‘Poker is going to have to wait sadly. Got a job to do.’

Lena leant towards Sam and started to read over the paper herself.

‘Sounds like a fun one.’

‘Here’s hoping.’ Sam folded the paper into her pocket and gripped the reins tightly before adjusting herself in the saddle. Lena’s eyes flicked to the bandage on Sam’s hand.

‘You gonna be okay with your hand?’ Sam looked down as if noticing the injury for the first time. Her lips parted in thought and she took a steadying breath.

‘I’ll check in with Doc before I head out. Will that boost your confidence in me?’

‘If you want to use me as an excuse to see the good doctor I won’t stop you. But I know you want to go and be quietly mysterious.’

‘Ugh!’ Sam swatted Lena’s shoulder playfully and grimaced. ‘Would you leave me alone already?’ Lena chuckled devilishly.

‘Aww, poor thing. You know you’d get bored if I didn’t tease you.’

‘Yep. When I’m on the trail of some no-good criminal, far away from Binder, what keeps me up at night is how much I miss your merciless teasing.’ They hitched their horses outside the saloon and Lena wrapped Sam in a tight hug.

‘I knew it. Don’t get yourself killed, I haven’t tracked down the black lipstick yet.’

Sam gripped Lena tight and reluctantly pulled away before tipping her hat in mock seriousness.

‘Ma’am.’  She turned away and started towards Jon’s store. Sam muttered to herself along the way, quietly mysterious might have gone out the window when it came to Alex, but Lena was right about her not needing to get her hand checked.

When she entered the store, Jon gave her a friendly smile and motioned towards the stairs.

‘You can go right on up if you’re here to see Miss Alex.’ Sam tipped her hat and bounded up to the first floor. She lightly tapped on the door and tried to sooth the nerves in her stomach with stuttered breathing. The door cracked open and the red in Alex’s hair caught the light behind her, giving her a pink tinted halo. Sam’s mouth dropped open and silence hung between them before Alex cleared her throat.

‘Your hand okay?’

‘Perfect.’ She was drowning in hazel pools, plunging deeper into Alex’s eyes with every second. She felt herself lean forward and snapped out of her trance. ‘I- uh- I have to head out of town. On a bounty. I wanted to get your- umm… your medical advice.’

Alex’s smile shone as bright as the light behind her and Sam’s heart stuttered.

‘Had any trouble with it since I cleaned it?’

‘Nope.’

‘This your dominant hand?’

‘Ambidextrous.’ Alex’s eyebrows shot up.

‘R-right… good to know.’ She coughed and Sam was sure syllables spilled with it. ‘I mean- It’s good that you… can use your other hand… for work.’ Sam smiled at Alex shyly and hope sparked in her chest. Just a little more kindling and her heart would be ablaze with it.

‘Well, I still owe you drinks in the saloon. When I get back you’ll have to celebrate another bounty hunting victory with me.’ Alex’s smile faltered and she seemed to lean away slightly. Sam saw something like doubt flicker through Alex’s eyes and the next time she spoke her voice was tinged with fear.

‘The stories they tell about you…’ Sam swallowed thickly, realisation hitting her hard.

‘What stories?’ She couldn’t keep the irritation from her voice.

‘The bloody massacre stories… Did you kill an entire family?’ Sam stepped back, her face tightening.

‘I don’t think you want to know the answer to that.’

‘M- may- maybe not. But I’d still like one.’ Sam’s head bowed so that her face was blocked by her hat and she let her hands go limp at her sides. Her chest rose and fell in a defeated sigh.

‘Yes.’ She tapped the brim of her hat without looking up and solemnly paced down the stairs and out the store.

Sam had ridden out of town as soon as she left the store and Lena had been left to her own devices. Sadly, her own devices usually meant her vices. By the time darkness painted Binder, Lena was drunkenly stumbling down the main street. She had something to do and she muttered a song as she staggered.

_There’s old Luthor bones in them there hills._  
Learned his lesson chasing dollar bills.  
Paid no mind to the people he killed  
So we took him to the desert and his bones we stilled.

She barely made it past Binder’s town sign before toppling to the side of the trail and passing out.


	8. Antagony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't sure this AU would gain much traction but you lovely readers are convincing me otherwise with the kudos and comments. I even spent a few hours yesterday reworking some of the planned plot lines just to make sure it was all worth your time in the end. Thank you, I appreciate you reading and I'm going to try my best to put out quality stuff for you.  
> I'm usually writing 6 or 7 chapters ahead of what I'm posting, and I gotta say sometimes I just wanna give it all to you.

Alex might have had a point about the joys of sleeping in a proper bed. Kara very slowly packed up her camp, trying not to irritate her already sore muscles and throbbing lower back. She patted Krypto fondly and gingerly stretched while admiring the streaks of golden sunrise stretching across the horizon.

The distance between Binder and Plastino annoyed Kara greatly. Not because she disliked the journey. Not even really because sleeping rough was, well, rough. It annoyed her because it took time, and in that time she had thought about her plan, such as it was. She could hear Alex’s voice d _o you think there will be a time when you don’t charge in head first?_

It might have been more accurate to stop calling it a plan and refer to it as instinct reaction. Still, charging in, eyes ablaze and fists raised, had gotten her this far in life. So she shrugged and stretched again.

After an unnecessarily loud yawn Kara saddled up and Krypto obediently cantered back to the trail. It took her close enough to the native camp that she could see what looked like stolen food supplies. A number of the people were pottering around, tending to their camp. A rushed conversation seemed to pass amongst them once Kara had been spotted.

She knew that times had been difficult for the indigenous people since the buffalo culling had begun and couldn’t find it in her to begrudge them taking back from the interlopers. She shuffled her wild rag so that it covered her badge and tipped her hat to them, leaving them in peace.

The rest of her journey went by uneventfully and she made it to Plastino City by mid-morning. With little effort she discovered the Live Wire Saloon was considered the most respectable establishment in the city. If both Cat and Winn had been right about the kind of man Edge was, that was exactly where she’d find him.

She straightened herself up, hooked a thumb in a belt loop and put on her most confident face. Her boots thudded loudly as she strode into the bar but few bothered to look over. She scanned the saloon for someone she felt fit the description of a bullish railway baron.

‘The people of Binder are dumb as dirt. The only thing standing between me and a state monopoly is that wench Cat Grant. Won’t be long before she sells up to me though.’ A voice loudly proclaimed and a few quieter voices murmured in agreement. ‘I don’t want to tell you fine gentlemen how to do business but now is the time to invest in Cutting Edge Travel. You leave it too long and you’ll find the business has chugged away without you.’ Kara located the voice and as expected the smarmy words matched up to a particularly smug face.

‘The way you describe Binder makes it seem like an inconsequential shithole. Why waste my money funding a railroad to nowhere?’ A woman’s voice stopped Edge’s in it’s tracks and he threw a scowl at this apparent businesswoman. Kara decided to stand back and see where the conversation might lead.

‘Luthor, you know as well as I do, Binder _is_ an inconsequential shithole. But with a railroad it’ll turn into the hub of trade that it nearly was under Lex’s control. You invest in my railroad and reopen that gold mine of yours and we’ll all be rolling in money.’ The Luthor name piqued Kara’s curiosity further but she couldn’t see the face without being noticed.

‘Unfortunately, you’ve just made getting into business with you sound about as appealing as hugging a rose bush. The people of Binder deserve to squander.’ With that the woman stood up and elegantly strode out the saloon. It definitely wasn’t Lena, which only left the Luthor matriarch. Kara doubted there was another wealthy Luthor family in the area. She almost wanted to smile at how quickly she rebuffed Edge’s offer, but then she remembered the woman’s possible homicidal tendencies. Still, she had softened Edge up for Kara who really wanted to knock him down.

She swaggered over to where he sat and plonked herself opposite him. She took her hat off and dropped it onto the table. Leaning back in the chair, she said nothing but appraised him carefully.

‘Come to show me a good time darling?’

‘With a face like that? I shouldn’t think even the tide would take _you_ out.’ She adjusted her wild rag and made sure the shine of her badge caught his eye. His face pinched in annoyance and the men with him tried their best to hold in their sniggers.

‘And just what backward town do you think you’re sheriff of?’

‘Backward? Not heard it called that before. I’ve heard inconsequential shithole… but not backward.’ Kara let the words roll off her tongue and linger in the air between them. Edge masked his surprise with a scoff.

‘Like I was saying gentlemen, Binder is full of half-wits. Even put a woman in charge of their law enforcement.’

‘Might be a woman but I’ve still got two eyes, still got two ears and a brain between em too. Everything you think you’re about to get away with, you ain’t. Everything you think you’re about to get handed to you, is gonna slip through your fingers. And I’m gonna be there to watch your face fall.’

‘That a threat sheriff?’ Kara turned to the men seated to her side.

‘Did that sound like a threat to you gentlemen? Sounded much more like facts to me.’ She turned her gaze back to Edge. ‘You want a threat, how about this? Another mysterious incident happens on Cat Grant’s land and I’ll be back here for you faster than double-struck lighting, my boot’ll be so far up your ass that you’ll be tasting leather and not a soul will be able to stop me.’ Kara leant over the table, pulled the handkerchief from Edge’s pocket and dabbed his lightly sweating head with it. She smiled wickedly at him and dropped the cloth to the table. Kara flipped her hat up onto her head and began to stroll towards the door.

Edge let out a tittering laugh and spoke louder than he had been before.

‘Can you gentlemen believe a woman thinks she can intimidate me? No doubt she’s got the accuracy of a blind goat.’ It seemed that men enjoyed taunting Kara into demonstrating her skill with a pistol.

She whipped around, drew her gun and fired one shot straight between his legs and into the cushioned seat. The groin of his trousers tore and a small squeal escaped his lips. She tipped her hat and moseyed out.

Once safely around the corner and out of sight she sunk back against the wall and blew out a long breath of nerves. Muttering words of complete dismay while fanning herself with her hat. She’d had barely a minute to compose herself when a head popped around the corner and smiled at her.

‘Excuse me sheriff?’ Kara straightened immediately and put her hat back in place.

‘What can I do for you?’

‘I’m James Olsen, photographer for the Plastino Telegraph. I was hoping you’d let me take your picture.’ He held out his hand for her and she shook it nervously.

‘What do you want _my_ picture for?’

‘I’m pretty sure somebody is going to want to write about what you just did.’ A soft laugh escaped him. When Kara’s nerves etched themselves deeper on her face he tried to calm her. ‘It was amazing what you just did. Nobody has ever stood up to Edge like that. And people are going to love that it was a woman.’

‘Oh.’ Kara laughed as nerves began to dissipate. ‘Well alright then. What do I have to do? I never had my picture taken before.’

James led her to the news offices and asked her to give him a few minutes to set up. He disappeared in the building and returned with his camera and a tripod.

‘So, you’re the new sheriff of Binder?’ He began to set the tripod up in the sand of the street.

‘I am. Tough crowd.’

‘Well there’s plenty of lawmen in the area when you find yourself struggling.’ She faintly smiled at him, that _when_ not _if_ really bugged her.

‘You been to Binder.’

‘Once. Took some pictures when the Luthor fiasco went down.’ He steadied the tripod and placed the camera on top.

‘Yeah, I heard about that. Mob justice is never any kind of justice in my book.’ James looked up and gave a confused look.

‘He killed twenty-three people by my count, Lex Luthor got what he deserved. Lillian Luthor has been nothing but toxic for the business of Plastino since she got here too. The Luthors are just bad people.’ He adjusted the camera slightly.

‘What about Lena? She hasn’t done anything wrong.’ He ducked under the black cloth of his camera.

‘She’s a Luthor, it’s just a matter of time. She’ll show her true colours.’ He popped back out and smiled at her. ‘I just need you to hold still a second and we are good to go.’ Without thinking much about it Kara placed one hand on the butt of her gun in its holster and the other rested on her hip in a fist. Her thoughts were instead occupied by James’ words. The more she thought about it, the more it irritated her that he had judged Lena without knowing anything about her.

The camera flashed brightly at her and James popped back into view.

‘A great pose.’ He grinned at her and moved closer. ‘Can I get you a drink while you are in town Sheriff?’

He was a handsome man, seemed friendly enough and he mostly seemed fine with her being a woman sheriff. He might have been a very nice man for her to have a drink with. But there was the small sting from his poor word choice. And then there was Lena, it felt like betrayal to drink with a man that hated her for no reason. Kara hardly knew Lena, had only actually met her twice, but the idea of allowing people to judge and hate Lena didn’t sit well with her.

‘I should be getting back. I don’t have a deputy.’ He seemed a little put out by the rejection but recovered with a smile and a handshake.

‘Maybe next time you’re in Plastino then.’

‘Maybe.’ She tipped her hat and set about finding her way back to where she had hitched Krypto.

Kara never liked to make Krypto work too hard or for too long, but she desperately just wanted to get back home. It was strange for her to feel as though she had a home, it was a new feeling to have the string pulling on her heart, beckoning her back to Binder. And really, Alex was right about camping. Kara made great time on her way back and arrived just as darkness was edging in.

It had been a long day for her. She trudged up the stairs and practically fell through the doorway as she opened it. With her head tilted forlornly toward the ground she spotted a pair of boots that didn’t belong in her home. She traced the figure up and bolted upright when she met with Lena’s blue green eyes. A trail that was only briefly paused at cleavage.

‘Lena,’ Kara gulped. Lena touched a finger to the brim of her hat and silently slipped out the room leaving Kara’s questioning eyes to fall on Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr is not hard to guess.... @psychopancakethethird  
> Love hearing your thoughts and theories about this.  
> Recently posted the first chapter of another fic as well. (Who's Asking?) The chapters are long so it'll update far less frequently than this one, but if you're after New Adventures of Superman vibes in your Supergirl fics, give it a look maybe?


	9. Converse

A boot gently nudged Lena’s hip and she wriggled away from it. She lay on her back in her most regular, though certainly not favourite sleeping locale, her hat resting over her face.

‘Well, at least I know you’re not dead.’ Lena’s hat was gently lifted making her groan in protest.

‘Why do you hate me?’ Whoever had woken Lena appeared to ignore her as they crouched down by her side and started to tug her to her feet. Lena reached out and grasped onto soft cotton material, it was too inviting not to fall into. By the time she was on her feet she was practically falling asleep against her new friend.

‘I’m not going to do all the walking for you, you’re going to have to stay a bit more conscious than that.’ The voice scolded, it was starting to sound vaguely familiar to Lena. She huffed in an overexaggerated fashion and straightened out her hat. She looked for the sun and realised it was roughly midday.

Soon her kindly not-so-stranger had propped her against the large Binder signpost and Lena finally looked at their face.

‘Doc.’

‘Lena.’

‘What you doing out here?’

‘I could ask you the same…’ She looked pointedly at Lena. ‘I don’t exactly have much of a job right now, so I was occupying my time with a walk. Cataloguing some of the plants that grow in the area.’

‘I was taking a nap.’ Alex looked at her with a wholly unimpressed expression.

‘You were passed out drunk in a ditch Lena. Don’t think I hadn’t noticed you out here before.’

‘Observation skills like that you should think about joining your sister in the sheriff’s office.’ Alex folded her arms tight across her chest.

‘Why always that ditch though?’ It seemed like a strange question to Lena, or perhaps it only seemed strange because no one had asked it before. In a moment that felt like an out of body experience Lena just gushed the truth.

‘When I get particularly drunk I get ideas that sound good at the time. It’s mostly the same idea actually. Apparently in my inebriated wisdom I decide that, while it’s dark and the sun won’t roast me, I should go and get Lex’s bones. Pass out about the same place every time.’ Alex’s face flickered with a variety of emotions as she tried to process Lena’s words. Lena reaches into her pocket and finds a cigarette and matchbook.

‘You smoke Doc?’ Alex shook her head. Lena shrugged and lit her cigarette before taking a deep drag of it. Alex’s posture softened as she leant against the sign next to Lena.

‘You want his bones to put him to rest or to have something to be angry at?’ Lena’s mouth quirked into a half smile.

‘Sheriff must be stronger than she looks, you’re definitely the brains of the family.’ She took another hit of nicotine while she contemplated her answer. ‘Both I think.’

They stayed as they were, side by side, in a comfortable silence while Lena finished her cigarette.

‘Come on, I’m hungry and hungover. It’s time for some bacon.’ Lena stiffly stood up and offered her hand to Alex who sighed and allowed Lena to pull her forward. ‘Find any tasty plants on your little excursions?’

‘In the desert? Plenty edible, none tasty.’

‘Shame.’ Lena glanced around awkwardly trying to think of a conversation topic when she caught sight of the sheriff’s office. ‘Kara too busy in the office to go out walking with you?’

‘Actually, she’s out of town.’ They turned into Jon’s store and Alex began to look over the produce. ‘She headed out to Plastino yesterday.’ Lena leant against the counter and smiled at Jon.

‘Fresh pack of cigarettes please Mr Johns.’ She glanced over her shoulder at Alex. ‘What’s got her over in Plastino?’

‘Didn’t say. How much are the peaches Jon? Actually never mind, can’t really afford em til Kara gets paid.’

Lena stomped over to Alex, picked up the tin of peaches, took the items Alex had carefully selected and put them all on the counter.

‘I’ll take this too please Mr Johns. Got bacon?’ Jon gave her a friendly wink and reached under the counter.

‘I had a feeling you’d be by for this today Miss Luthor. Shall I add your usual eggs and beans to the order?’

‘An excellent idea Mr Johns.’

Lena paid for all the groceries before Alex could protest and helped take them upstairs. With all the shopping placed on the table Lena picked up her few items, ready to leave.

‘I can’t let you buy all this for us and then just leave.’

‘Why not? I gotta do something with the Luthor ill gotten gains.’

‘Let me cook your hangover lunch for you.’ Lena eyed her curiously.

‘On one condition.’ Alex raised a questioning brow. ‘You gotta join me, it’d be awkward for me to sit here eating alone.’ Alex nodded in laughter.

‘Take a seat and I’ll have food ready before you know it.’ Lena sat with her fingers tangled together on the table, watching Alex work with the small stove in the corner.

‘How’s the doctoring going?’

‘Only had one patient.’ Alex shrugged.

‘Really?’

‘Not many people trust a woman to treat them.’

‘Looked to me like you did a fine job with Sam’s hand.’ Alex glanced over her shoulder at Lena and a faint blush touched her cheeks. Lena smiled mischievously to herself. ‘Sam’s a pretty easy patient though. At least I’ve always found her to be calm. How about you?’

Alex cleared her throat while suddenly taking greater interest in the sizzling bacon.

‘Barely winced when I disinfected the wound. She’s made of strong stuff.’ Lena leant her chin on one hand leaving the remaining fingers to tap the table in thought.

‘She’s rough and strong on the outside. Inside is a different matter.’ Alex turned to Lena with two plates of eggs and bacon. She placed them on the table and joined Lena to eat.

‘You trying to tell me a mass murderer is soft and mushy on the inside?’ Lena tilted her head with a confused smirk on her face.

‘Who told you she’s a mass murderer?’

‘Well that’s maybe a bit of an exaggeration… but even she admitted she killed an entire family one time.’ Lena barked out a laugh loud enough for Jon to hear it downstairs.

‘Was she trying to scare you or something? She’s only ever killed one family and they were plague victims. She put them out their misery and stopped it spreading.’ There was little noise between them as Lena softly chuckled and Alex focused on her plate.

‘Just how many of those stories about her have you been listening to Doc? You must think I’m plotting my revenge on Binder too.’ Alex looked up suddenly and gazed at Lena apologetically which only started Lena off laughing again.

‘It’s not that funny.’

‘It really is.’ She struggled to choke back the laughter. ‘You’ve met her, she’s a sweetheart. You really think she’d be capable of killing a town full of people because she was bored?’

‘Hey, I never believed the town full of people story. That just seemed unrealistic.’

‘And the rest seemed realistic to you given what you know about Sam?’

‘Well when you say it like that it sounds stupid.’

‘Careful Doc, I might have to take back my thoughts on you being the Danvers brains.’

‘What was I supposed to believe? She didn’t exactly jump to deny it when I asked her.’ Lena’s eyes darted quickly from her food to Alex’s face. She swallowed her food loudly, took a swig from her hip flask.

‘You asked her about it?’ Alex noticed the sudden concerned focus on Lena’s face.

‘Yeah?’

‘Why?’ Lena huffed out in frustration.

‘What do you mean why? Why wouldn’t I?’ Lena shook her head as she bowed it slightly. She sighed heavily and considered whether honesty was the best policy in this particular instance.

‘Couldn’t you just judge her character, forget all the crazy stories, just see her?’ Lena stabbed her bacon slightly too forcefully. The fork screeched across the plate. ‘She hates the things they say about her you know? Why can’t anyone just see her?’

A wave of guilt flooded Alex and her eyes shone with a glossy coating of tears only just held in check. Alex thought about the person Sam had been whenever they had stumbled into each other’s orbit and realised her mistake.

‘I think I did see her. Just let those stories colour in the image I’d drawn.’ Lena let out a watery laugh for her friend.

‘She really liked you, you know?’

‘You think she doesn’t anymore?’

‘I don’t know what to think. She doesn’t often get chance to be Sam Arias, normally forced into being The Bloody Hunter or World Killer. Thought maybe you’d give her a chance to let Sam out.’

‘Tell me more about her.’

‘What?’

‘Tell me about Sam Arias. Let me start colouring in the image from scratch.’ Lena fell deep in thought, picking through the library of stories she could tell. She would have told any one of them and been proud of her friend. Might as well start where their friendship began.

‘I was nineteen when Lex… when he did what he did. Barely an adult but well aware of the stares people started giving me. They started whispering about me whenever I walked past. Then they took him, I heard him screaming for help that night… when they carried him out to the desert. Thought I could still hear him screaming come morning, even though I know they took him too far out for that.’ Lena took a long swig from her flask.

‘The stares just got worse after and the whispers turned into loud conversations. Then they’d be shouting at me whenever I walked by. I spent days living in fear of what they might do. Found out pretty soon. I guess they decided it’d be better in Binder if I weren’t around either because it was my turn to go to the desert.’ Alex stared at her with a pity so deep it was painful for Lena to look at.

‘They didn’t make it very far though. Bounty hunter was passing through and didn’t like what she saw. Fired her rifle in warning and the first one to turn on her learned how fast she can draw that pistol of hers. Not many in Binder really had weapons and even fewer knew how to use em. Think she scared the absolute shit out of them. She cradled me til I stopped crying.’ Lena wiped at her eyes roughly.

‘She introduced herself to me like we were just meeting in the street and when I told her my name I was ready for her to turn her gun on me. But she just held me tighter and apologised. It wasn’t like she didn’t know about my family. She just saw me and knew I didn’t want the same things as Lex. She was the first person to see me. Not even my family ever knew me. You understand what I’m saying?’

‘I think I do.’ Alex said quietly.

‘She didn’t choose to be a bounty hunter. We don’t always get to lead the lives we want Doc. Truth be told I think she would have made a great leader, the kind they put in the history books. I’d put her in charge of the mines if the idea of opening them again wasn’t so repulsive.’

‘She really means a lot to you, doesn’t she?’ Lena breathed out a short laugh, noticing the slightly jealous apprehension on Alex’s face.

‘I reckon as much as Kara means to you.’ Lena tilted her head back and stared at the rafters. ‘All the good things in my life happened because of her. She taught me to defend myself, how to survive, how to shoot straight too. And she comes with the added bonus of being an incredibly fun travelling companion.’ Alex’s stomach twisted into a tense knot. She picked up the plates from the table to start cleaning up. Lena’s gaze dropped back down and a wry smile spread across her face, unseen by Alex.

‘You must know Binder pretty well, anywhere I can set up shop as town doctor.’ Lena admired the sharp change in topics for what it was and allowed it.

‘I don’t know that I do. You having trouble?’

‘Aside from no one trusting a woman doctor? I’ve got nowhere to work. I can’t just use Jon’s kitchen table the whole time. Kara keeps saying she’ll set me up in her office, but that’s hardly ideal either.’

Lena drummed her fingers on the table. This was, without doubt, the longest conversation or social interaction Lena had had with anyone besides Sam since Lex. She didn’t want to go as far as to say Alex was her friend or that she would be willing to trust her exactly. Except that she would trust Alex to be her doctor. And how often was she likely to stumble across someone like that? She would, given her penchant for armed stick ups, inevitably need a doctor in the future. Additionally, the happier Alex was, the more likely Kara would be to stick around. She had decided she liked the new sheriff. She liked the months when they didn’t have a sheriff, but something about Sheriff Danvers patrolling the town felt right. Just like that, she had resolved to make an offer.

‘I guess that would be a good way to spend the Luthor ill-gotten gains.’

‘Huh?’ Alex turned to face Lena.

‘If you’d be willing to accept my money, I’d be willing to fund your practice. Just get you on your feet.’ Alex blinked at her and shook her head.

‘I’m sorry, are you offering to buy a medical practice for me?’

‘Yes?’ Alex’s mouth dropped open. She stepped to the table and leant her palms on it. Leaning in to Lena she stared straight at her eyes.

‘You’re serious?’

‘As long as I’m just the money, I don’t want to be stuck with the paperwork and hassle.’

‘What’s in it for you?’ Alex’s eyes grew suspicious.

‘Free medical care?’

‘Hardly free.’

‘Well, I don’t expect you to charge me when I need help.’

‘And no other strings attached?’ Her eyes were searching for some sign of a devious plan in Lena’s expression.

‘I don’t know, put my name on the building or something? I want it to be a force for good.’

‘Lena?’

‘No, Luthor.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah.’

Alex flopped into her chair, staring at Lena with thoughts spiralling in her mind. Much like her mental image of Sam had, the picture of Lena she had been constructing needed some deep consideration. Lena had every reason to be bitter and hateful. Life had given her little and taken much. Binder had broken her down until she was an alcoholic mess. But here Lena was, offering a kindness and generosity that could rival Kara’s.

Once that thought had crossed her mind she couldn’t stop finding the parallels between them. Alex had taken Kara under her wing when she’d found her alone and scared, far from her home. They’d always introduced themselves as sisters because it was what felt right. Kara had lost her family, all the comforts she had ever known, everyone she had ever loved. But Kara still tried so hard to help Alex achieve her dreams, to help everyone she’d ever found in need of it, to stand for good.

Alex thought she’d never meet anyone else like Kara. Kara was too special, more beaten down than most people could cope with, and still unrelentingly positive. But Lena… Lena just might be comparable, she just might understand Kara’s life better than Alex could hope to. Lena didn’t have the sunny smile and sparkling optimism of Kara, but her driving force, the good in her… was it the same?

‘You talk much to Kara?’

‘I think Binder’s sheriff is wisely choosing to keep her distance from the remaining Luthor.’ She smiled tightly and knotted her fingers together.

‘Doesn’t sound like Kara.’

‘Well she’s the first sheriff we’ve had that hasn’t spent every evening in the saloon.’

‘She doesn’t drink much.’ Lena shrugged in response. ‘You two got off on the wrong foot, huh?’

Lena snorted.

‘You could say that. I’d call it more of a pissing match. Staking our claim or some such.’ Alex couldn’t help smiling, now she’d seen the similarities she couldn’t fight seeing them everywhere.

‘She told me about your… introduction.’

‘Could hardly call it that, didn’t exactly exchange names.’

‘I know, she called you the Goddess of Trouble.’ Lena’s eyebrow quirked in intrigue.

‘Probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever called me… Goddess?’ Alex laughed loudly, allowing herself to betray Kara for the greater good.

‘Said she didn’t know how else to describe you. Something about you being carved from marble…’ Lena’s face flushed as she stuttered over her response.

‘Must have been my stony demeanour.’

‘Mmmhmm… must have been.’ Alex’s voice dripped with sarcastic disbelief.

‘Trouble seems well deserved though.’

‘Does it?’ Alex’s soft eyes questioned alongside her words.

‘I’m a Luthor… Makes sense.’

‘Kara don’t care about your family Lena. Pretty sure she’s changed her mind about the Trouble thing too…’ Alex mischievously smiled. ‘Think Goddess still stands in her mind though…’

Lena’s blush burned and she nervously turned from Alex. Outside the sun was beginning to set, Lena caught sight of the flaring orange light out the window.

‘It’s getting dark. I should go, I really didn’t mean to take up so much of your time Doc.’

‘It was a pleasure talking to you, not sure what I would have done with my afternoon if not for your company.’ Lena stood up awkwardly.

‘Let me know if you’re serious about setting up that medical practice.’ Alex stood to shake Lena’s hand.

‘I definitely want to, sure you want to pay for it?’

‘Positive.’ Lena shook Alex’s hand amicably before turning toward the door.

‘Good evening Doc.’ The door burst open and Kara tumbled through. Lena had to resist the urge to reach out and steady her. It took Kara a while to speak once their eyes locked but Lena didn’t know what to say either.

‘Lena.’ The words _Goddess of Trouble_ rumbled through Lena’s mind, not knowing where to look or what to say she simply tapped a finger on the brim of her hat and slipped past Kara to leave.


	10. Treble Trouble

Alex immediately retreated to her room, away from Kara’s inquisitive eyes. There was no way that Kara would let her escape however. She traipsed in after her and slung her bedroll on the floor before flopping unceremoniously onto Alex’s bed.

‘Doctoring again?’ Alex puttered around the room, determinedly avoiding eye contact, knowing that Kara’s pouting face would have her spilling her guts.

‘No. Just talking.’

‘What about?’

‘Not much, just people and things.’ Alex muttered and silently pleaded for Kara to accept her reluctance.

‘Which people?’ Apparently Kara was in no mood to have mercy on Alex, feeling as though Sam Arias might have been the topic of discussion.

‘Oh… umm. You for a bit, a little bit about Lena, some Lex.’ Alex still avoided looking at her but Kara could see her dancing around saying one particular name.

‘What about Sam, you talk about her?’

‘A little.’ Alex fidgeted uncomfortably, ready for another abrupt topic change. ‘Lena offered to buy a medical practice for me.’

Kara choked on air and sputtered over a variety of inflections on the word _what_.

‘She said she wanted to use her money for something good.’ Alex turned to face Kara.

‘Well she could buy everyone free drinks, new books for the school or donate to an orphanage. But… buy a medical practice for a stranger?!’ Alex shrugged.

‘Might be my only chance, she seemed honest enough in her offer.’ She settled next to Kara on the bed and poked her in the side until she sat up.

‘So she’s just gonna buy it and it’ll be yours?’

‘I think so. She said all she wanted was free medical care and her name on the building.’

‘Lena?’

‘No. Luthor.’

‘What? Why Luthor?’ Kara tilted her head to look at Alex with pure confusion.

‘That’s what I thought.’ She sighed in gentle amusement.  Kara shot up to her feet and was half way out the door before she thought to say anything.

‘I should go and thank her.’ Alex laughed and tilted her head at Kara.

‘You might not have much faith in my social skills, but I did think to thank her…’ Alex’s brow furrowed and regret smeared across her face. ‘Actually, I maybe didn’t thank her…’ Kara rolled her eyes as she almost sprinted out the door.

Darkness had descended but the saloon was still very much lit up. A few of the locals stumbled out into the street as Kara approached. There was plenty of noisy conversation, laughter and music coming from inside. Music was not unusual on the whole, most saloons found a way to have music playing if they could. Lena would often have a piano man playing something to keep the spirits high and the booze flowing. But on this particular evening the melodies had a different air to them, they were more soulful, they called out to Kara and drew her in.

She swung the door open and sidled in as inconspicuously as she could while she located Lena. There, perched on the piano stool, was the reason for the siren song music of the evening. Lena had a bottle of whisky sat on top of the piano that she sipped from when the tune permitted her the time. She played with closed eyes and effortless grace. Kara rested against a narrow wooden pillar as she enjoyed the view and music.

Kara had never particularly enjoyed saloon music before. It had all been a series of plonking piano keys and forced glee. It had always felt hollow and inauthentic. But Lena played differently. She lingered over the notes and twisted them into a story. Lena didn’t play to set the mood, Lena played her mood. It was hopeful and excited, but it had undertones of fear and melancholy bursting through. Kara was thoroughly enraptured by the music, the energy, her fingers bouncing along the keys, the sight of Lena’s elegant neck arching as her silken hair draped over one shoulder, enraptured by it all.

Before she even realised her eyes were watering, a tear rolled down her cheek. Kara had always appreciated beauty in the world, had always felt that if she didn’t take the time to appreciate the beauty she’d only see the ugly. But she’d never been struck so hard by anything nearly as beautiful as Lena pouring her soul into the piano music. It seemed crazy to her that she was the only one hearing what Lena was playing, really _hearing_ it, not just the music.

When the song built to a finish Kara let out a soft gasp and quickly rubbed at her lightly tear stained cheek. Lena reached for her bottle of whisky, taking an unnecessarily large gulp as she considered what to play next. Kara sauntered toward her.

‘I didn’t know you played.’ Lena tilted her head toward Kara and gestured a wild shrugging motion with both arms flailing, bottle in hand.

‘Wouldn’t be a fine young Victorian woman if I hadn’t mastered an instrument, would I?’ Kara leant against the piano and absently poked at some of the keys.

‘I suppose not.’ Lena abruptly thumped her elbow down on the keys and rested her head in her palm. She looked at Kara intently and raised a brow questioningly. ‘I wanted to thank you.’ Kara said.

‘I’d tell you to get in line but it seems you’ve made it to the front in record time.’ Lena said drily. ‘And just what are you thanking me for?’

‘For the soon to be Luthor medical office.’

‘Hmmm. You thanking me because your sister get’s somewhere to work now?’

‘Partly. But more than that, it’s because you give me hope. Something like that inspires a girl to keep going.’

‘I don’t follow.’

‘I don’t get out of bed everyday ready to take on the world and do the right thing. People like you give me reason to, I fight for good because there are people that are worth sticking up for.’ Lena’s face scrunched and she swayed away from Kara slightly, as though she could understand better if she had a wider perspective.

‘You’re inspired by _me_?’

‘I am.’ Kara smiled warmly. ‘I’m a pretty good judge of character. It’s my job to uncover the truth. And you, Lena Luthor, are a good person. I suspect you might be pretty smart too but it’s hard to tell when you’re drunk the whole time.’

‘You sound very confident of my… goodness.’  Lena leant in conspiratorially and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Saying things like that could make you mighty unpopular real fast. You best talk to someone else, quick.’ Kara shook her head and sighed. She reached a tentative hand out to lightly grip Lena’s wrist and tug her to her feet.

‘Come on.’ She pulled Lena along before sitting her down at a table and heading to the bar. ‘Two glasses please.’ Glasses in hand she joined Lena at the table and poured Lena and herself a drink from Lena’s bottle of whisky.

‘That’s very forward of you Sheriff.’ Kara grinned from behind her glass.

‘You technically just bought me a drink…’ Lena looked at Kara appraisingly, eyebrow quirked.

‘So, should I ask what a girl like you is doing in a place like this or did we already cover that?’

‘Technically I still haven’t thanked you properly…’ Kara paused as she watched Lena’s perfect lower lip disappear between her teeth.

‘And what is entailed in proper thanks Sheriff?’ Kara’s face flushed, she shifted in her seat and her leg ended up brushing against Lena’s. An accident on Kara’s part but not entirely unwelcome. Their eyes locked, the noise of the bar getting drowned out by their heartbeats. Their hands sat close enough on the table that Kara felt a tingle run down her spine. Without shifting her gaze Lena lifted a finger from her glass and ran it across the back of Kara’s hand. Kara sucked in a breath and felt the energy sparking between them.

Gunfire pierced their bubble and broke their stare. They both whipped their heads to see a young man menacingly waving a pistol at another patron. Lena and Kara shot to their feet and drew their weapons before the remaining patrons could react.

‘You put the gun down before I show you how one’s used properly.’ Kara hollered. He quickly turned to her, pistol still raised, gritting his teeth.

‘I don’t have to listen to a lady.’

‘I’d advise you to reconsider Michael.’ Lena had both her pistols aimed right at his head and a menacing grin on her face.

‘Ain’t nobody in this room about to show any respect you Luthor. Why you think I’d take your advice?’ Kara started to slowly edge towards the man. A few hands dropped to their corresponding hips and tense fingers itched to grip guns.

‘You draw that gun Manuel and you’ll be crying about a lot more than your wife leaving you.’ Lena’s left hand moved to target another man across the room. Gun still pointed at Michael, Kara glanced quickly around the room.

‘Anyone who wants to leave peacefully had better do it slowly and quietly now.’ Kara’s confidence rang out and most of the evening’s remaining patrons nervously edged out the door.

‘You’re still outnumbered _Miss Danvers_. Maybe you want to consider leaving with them,’ Michael taunted. Lena sidestepped to give herself a better view of the room and firmly planted her feet behind one of the tables. Kara watched her out her peripherals and nodded subtly to her.

As soon as Lena saw the nod all hell broke loose. She fired directly at Michael’s gun, almost knocking it out of his hand. Kara dove over the bar for cover and Lena kicked her foot out to tip over the table in front of her, as she ducked down behind it she fired her other gun and put a hole in Manuel’s hand as it moved to his holster.

Michael readjusted his grip on his pistol and lined up his sights with the table covering Lena. Kara popped out of cover, fired into his arm and cocked her gun ready to shoot at the man behind Michael. Behind Kara a fourth man had drawn his gun a started to squeeze the trigger when Lena caught him in the shoulder with another bullet. His finger squeezed but his shot went wide and smashed a bottle on the shelves.

The man behind Michael suddenly lost his confidence and bolted for the door. Kara was all about sorting things peacefully if she could. But he _did_ need to learn a lesson. She fired at the ground by his feet and laughed as he skipped fearfully out the door. Lena stood up straight and fired one last shot, it passed so close by Michael’s ear he thought he could feel it grazing his scalp.

‘Get out of my saloon or I keep firing.’

‘Any of you want patching up, you got two choices. You plead with my sister for help or you start walking to Plastino now. And I see any of you causing trouble like that again I put you behind bars and lose the key.’ All three men sullenly loped out the saloon.

‘That was fun.’ Lena waggled her eyebrows at Kara and the pair of them fell into laughter. ‘Made a bit of a mess of my bar though.’ Kara sat herself back down in her seat with a sigh of relief and dropped her gun onto the table.

‘Should have taken you as back up to Plastino.’ Lena flopped down next to her and cocked her eyebrow.

‘Sounds like trouble follows you.’

‘Just dealing with a problem for Miss Grant.’ Lena nodded and poured herself another drink.

‘You must be talking about Edge.’

‘You know about that?’

‘Course, he’s not subtle. And I like to keep my eye on that slimy snake in the grass.’ Kara’s lips pursed as she tried and failed to hide an approving smile. Lena knocked back her drink. ‘I don’t imagine he gave _you_ much trouble?’ Kara nervously laughed and adjusted her hat before knotting her fingers together.

‘Might have gone a bit over board trying to demonstrate my… umm… authority?’

‘Oh, I see. You got in another pissing match.’ Lena smiled wryly and Kara’s sip of whisky got caught in her throat.

‘It wasn’t like that… well, maybe a little bit. He really irritated me. Thought just because I’m a woman I don’t know what I’m doing.’ Lena’s smile shifted to a knowing smirk.

‘Is that what I did? Irritated you?’ Lena lifted her glass to Kara before taking a sip. Kara scoffed.

‘That- You- You just caught me off guard after someone else irritated me actually.’

‘So… I shouldn’t take it personally?’

‘No! … I mean- Truce?’ Lena knocked her glass on Kara’s in acceptance.

‘What are you gonna do about Edge?’ There was a glimmer of mischief in Lena’s eye that drew Kara in closer, leaning on the table to create a conspiratorial two-person huddle.

‘Was gonna give him a chance to stick to my laws now I’ve laid em down.’ Lena laughed briefly.

‘He’s not gonna. He don’t listen to words. You gotta act.’ The glimmer was getting brighter.

‘And you’ve got a suggestion?’

‘Indeed I do.’ She smiled wickedly. ‘Gonna hold a poker tournament soon, planning on inviting all the big business boys so I can take their money from them. It’d be the perfect time for something terribly sad to happen to Edge’s bridge.’ Kara’s brow furrowed, she fiddled with the brim of her hat.

‘Edge’s bridge?’

‘He’s building out over the canyon, needs it for his railroad to cross out this way.’ Lena took another drink, Kara’s lips twisted in thought.

‘Why’s he need to be here for something unfortunate to happen to his bridge?’

‘Oh, that’s just so I can see his face when he realises what happened.’ Lena laughed devilishly.

Harsh footsteps sounded at the entrance, Kara and Lena turned to face the interloper. Lena’s face soured instantly. Kara cleared her throat and put a more reasonable distance between herself and Lena.

‘Would you mind Sheriff? I need to talk to the devil.’ Kara rose, gave Lena a comforting smile and tipped her hat as she passed by on her way out.

‘Mother. What do you want this time?’


	11. Snow White's Night Time Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always write with music, them's the facts. So I have a bunch of tracks that have been pivotal to getting this written. I've taken them time to put the ones I could onto a spotify playlist if you're interested :) [there was one track I couldn't find on spotify and it was all I listened to while writing chapter five so that was a bummer :/ It was Blues Saraceno - Carry Me Back Home]  
> https://open.spotify.com/user/cxuz0ateeovucrjmr034gf6pa/playlist/0HHRglSlScjDB3cRxYBA1d
> 
> Basically just listened to Wicked Gonna Come on repeat while I wrote this Lillian section.

There has always been something innately indicative of a villain in the colour combination of green and black. Certainly not everything green and black is evil. But to truly ascend to the halls of evil fame one should attempt to be remembered in a green and black ensemble. Lillian had obviously heard this line of thought before. Her emerald silk dress sprawled across her body, tumbling to the ground in an extravagantly large skirt. Trimmed in black lace and joined by black evening gloves. Her bare shoulders adorned by a silver and emerald necklace.

It all left an admirer with the opinion that the only thing more wicked than her outfit was her smile, but Lena knew better. Lena knew that Lillian’s heart held dark and knotted corners, knew that Lillian was the epitome of a wicked stepmother prepared to sacrifice the girl with skin white as snow, lips red as blood and hair black as raven wings.

Lena slouched back in her chair, watching Lillian glide across the room as though it offended her to touch the ground. Lena scoffed lightly to herself as she realised that Lillian considered the ground beneath her both literally and metaphorically.

‘Is that what you’re wearing these days Lena?’ Lena looked down at herself and then back up to Lillian with a look of exaggerated surprise on her face.

‘My goodness, what on Earth happened to my dress? I’m sure I put it on this morning.’

Disgust encroached on Lillian’s face. Emotion number three of the Lillian Luthor emotional range. If Lena played her cards right she’d draw out the full range in one conversation.

‘It’s so unrefined. So unladylike.’ Lillian tutted.

‘Ah, yes.’ Lena grasped her glass and shot it towards Lillian with a finger outstretched. ‘But it’s a heck of a lot easier to move in when I get run out of town.’ She sipped at her drink with brow raised in defiance.

Lillian began to ascend the stairs with the air of a woman who knew she would be followed. Lena contemplated heading out for a night ride and scoring herself both number one and two on the emotional range in one fell swoop. But it felt like cheating if she didn’t see it. She uncrossed her legs and rocked to her feet to trudge after Lillian.

‘I’ve never understood why you stayed in this awful place.’ Lillian ran a finger along the bannister and shuddered at the streak of dust it left on her glove.

‘Well… I do own it.’

‘I was talking more generally about the town, and you know it.’

‘Do you think you could move a little faster? Your bustle is practically hitting me in the face and it’s very tempting to step on your train.’ Lena flicked a hand out at the back of Lillian’s dress and tousled the fabric. Lillian glanced over her shoulder and raised an intimidating eyebrow. Lena was accustomed to the myriad quirks of Lillian’s brows and felt nothing besides a cold numbness encasing her heart.

Lillian led the way straight to Lena’s room and began disapprovingly examining the contents. Lena folded into her arm chair, leaving her mother the choice of standing or perching on her bed, something she knew would never happen. As she watched Lillian glide around the room she wondered whether Lillian had come to lecture her on the evils of Binder, generally vent her disappointment in Lena or lament the loss of her darling Lex.

‘How do you stand it in this cesspool of a town? Have you forgotten what they did to Lex? He was destined for so much better than Binder.’ Lena allowed genuine surprise to mark her face, Lillian was hitting two of her favourite topics in one visit.

‘I find alcohol helps quite a lot actually.’ Lillian turned sharply to face Lena at that.

‘Yes, drinking with the woman sheriff…’ Lena was incredibly proud of herself, she’d drawn out emotion number two, disappointment. Only one left to go. She willed her alcohol-soaked brain to drain itself like a sponge just for a moment, so she could think of the perfect thing to say.

‘And what a _woman_ she is.’ Lena wiggled her eyebrows with a smug grin on her face. Her shot at the trifecta of emotion was missed though, Lillian’s face reverted back to disgust.

‘I see you’re still as deranged as ever.’

‘Is there a reason you’re here or did we have a mother daughter disappointment routine in the calendar today?’

‘I had hoped you might have come to your senses by now. We are the last Luthors Lena, family should stick together.’ Lena eyed Lillian suspiciously.

‘What do you want this time mother?’

‘The same thing I’ve wanted for six years Lena.’ Lillian paused for dramatic effect and Lena rolled her eyes. ‘Revenge.’

‘What a revelation… I am so shocked I may never look at the world the same way again.’ Lena’s voice came out flat and monotone. The disgust was souring on Lillian’s face. It wouldn’t take too much more to push her into emotion number one.

‘I’ve got something I need you to do for me, I-‘

‘-No thank you.’ Lena smiled unapologetically and revelled in Lillian’s free fall into “pissed off”. The trifecta in less than half an hour. Lena couldn’t wait to tell Sam.

Lillian’s false smile faltered, her scowl dug deep lines on her face and she paced closer to Lena, looming over her.

‘I’m not offering anything you can turn down, Lena. You will listen to me and you will do as I say.’ She leant in to Lena’s face. ‘Or your little lady sheriff will find out _all_ about your hobbies. Do you think she’ll put you in handcuffs or just kill you and be done with it?’

‘Hmm… it’s a stumper. I’m rooting for handcuffs, sounds like fun.’ Lena’s eyebrow twitched. The battle of eyebrows between the Luthor women was always something to behold, an echoing conversation written in perfected muscle contortions. But during this particular browversation the stakes seemed to have been raised.

Lillian straightened up, turning away from Lena as she moved across the room.

‘There’s a very specific transport I need you to steal. I don’t know when it’ll be moving yet but you’ll prepare for when it does. I won’t miss this opportunity.’

‘God… could you be any more vague and ominous? Did you take villain lessons or does this just come naturally to you?’ Lillian’s gaze remained focused out the window while she waited for Lena to finish.

‘It’ll be heavily guarded, think about taking your little bounty hunter friend with you.’

‘Is that genuine concern for my health?’ Lillian scoffed at the very thought.

Lena began to consider what sort of goods might be being transported that would pique Lillian’s interest in such a manner. She didn’t enjoy the idea of working for Lillian, but she _did_ enjoy the freedom of not being in a jail cell for highway robbery. And in any case, it was entirely possible that Sam would also receive word and they would have taken the wagon regardless of Lillian’s instructions.

‘I’m going to need more information if you want this done properly.’

‘I’ll send a messenger with everything you need to know. Make sure you’re ready when he comes.’ With that Lillian swayed out the room without another glance at Lena. Rolling her eyes, she rose to her feet and considered her options for the remainder of her evening. Slipping back downstairs to drink until she passed out, probably in her ditch, or collapsing onto the bed and for once sleeping there without someone physically putting her there.

She rubbed at her tired eyes and took her hat off. Lena ran her fingers around the brim while contemplating what Lillian could be plotting. A light tapping dragged her from her thoughts. Her face frowned in confusion when she realised the tap had come from outside her window. She marched to it, drew a pistol and slid the pane up.

‘Don’t shoot me, we were just starting to get along.’ Lena sighed and holstered her weapon when she recognised Kara’s voice. She poked her head out the window, finding Kara precariously balanced on the small ledge running around the building.

‘You know there’s a perfectly serviceable door?’

Kara chuckled lightly, readjusting her grip on the sill.

‘Your mother didn’t seem to approve of me… I thought maybe you’d appreciate her not seeing me walk in as soon as she left.’

‘You thought her seeing you sneak in through my window would have been better?’

‘Well I’m not trying to sneak in. Just seemed like we had an unfinished conversation.’ Lena’s mind raced at the surprising turn of events. She had not expected Kara to be so forward. Lena rested her hands on the window frame, placing them tantalisingly close to Kara’s. Her hair draping over a shoulder and creating silky curtain. She saw the swell of a hard swallow roll down Kara’s throat. Their eyes were fixed once again as she slipped gentle fingers along Kara’s arm.

Kara stuttered nervously as a shiver ran through her body. Her foot slipped from it’s rest and she rushed to reclaim her stability. She repositioned and found herself at eye level with Lena.

‘So…’ Kara began, pausing when Lena bit down on her lower lip. ‘H-h-how do we … umm… what are we going to do to Edge’s bridge?’ Oh. That unfinished conversation. Lena pulled back with a sigh before slipping her hat back on her head.

‘Right.’ She wasn’t quite successful at concealing her disappointment as she spoke. ‘Out the way…’ Kara shuffled to the side in confusion. ‘Thank you.’ Lena launched herself out the window and landed firmly on the ground, boots dug far enough into the ground to leave spur marks in the soil.

Lena waved her arm for Kara to follow and before long they were riding their horses out of town.

Lena wanted to let a cold distance settle between them, she wanted to hate how oblivious Kara was, she wanted to dislike Kara. It would have been easier. Kara’s golden curls fluttering in the wind as they rode made it difficult. Kara’s quiet but melodic humming of a tune that set Lena’s soul alight made it unlikely. Kara’s cheerful smile radiating sunny hope made it impossible. Lena had to resign herself to the fact that she liked Kara. Worse still she’d settle for being friends with Kara because apparently that was the closest she could get to her. Lena hated herself a little bit more for it. She wanted to be friends with a sheriff… Idiocy.

The night sky was gloriously spattered with twinkling stars playing out the tales of Greek mythology. There had never been a painter able to capture the mesmerising beauty of the night sky, not as far as Kara was concerned. In 1860 Frederic Edwin Church had tried to imitate the splendour of a shooting star, Kara had seen it in 1867 and she had been thoroughly disappointed. In seventeen years Kara would make it her mission to track down and see Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night Over The Rhone painting. She would still be disappointed. The black silhouettes of the landscape shying away in awe of the night’s beauty, while Kara rode with her face fixed firmly to the sky.

The pearly moon reflected a silvery glow across the darkened desert landscape. Fortunate given that they needed to see. Lena had led them to a vast canyon that ran along the trail to Plastino. From there they could make out the landscape spoiling construction, edging its way over the cracked terrain.

‘That right there.’ Lena pointed and ran her finger through the air along the bridge’s lines. ‘That’s where we hit Morgan Edge.’

Kara hummed in thought as she squinted at the canyon.

‘You’ve had a lot to drink, so this isn’t me trying to diminish your intelligence. But you realise if we pull the bridge down, however you think we can do that, there’s nothing to stop him just building again but with better protection?’ Lena turned in her saddle to look at Kara with offended discontent.

‘I’m not that drunk,’ she began. ‘Obliterating the bridge is only half the plan. We’re also going to make him think he could make more money by giving up on building and starting to dig.’

Kara scratched at her scalp, knocking her hat slightly ajar.

‘Why would he start digging instead of building his railroad?’ Kara couldn’t keep the tired yawn from slipping out at the end of her sentence.

‘You’re tired, so this isn’t me trying to diminish your intelligence. But you realise men have done a lot less for the prospect of gold right?’ Lena grinned at her with unbridled mischief. Kara shook her head, smiling and taking the mocking hit on the chin.

‘And how do we make him think he’s sitting on a literal gold mine?’

‘Simple.’ Lena re-seated herself in the saddle and turned her horse back to town. ‘We put some gold under his ass.’ She began the short canter back to Binder.

Kara sat pondering the wonderfully complex woman who had stomped into her life. She gazed at Lena’s shrinking figure with a concoction of emotions rolling through her stomach that she couldn’t label. The screeching bark of a coyote snapped Kara to attention and she sped to catch up with Lena.

‘You just have some gold laying around I suppose?’

Lena snorted. She wasn’t proud of it, but it happened.

‘You would suppose correctly.’ Kara suddenly remembered Winn’s tale of the Luthor Mining Company woes. Her palm flew to her face and she grimaced in embarrassment.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up.’

‘It’s fine Sheriff, I figured someone would have told you by now.’

‘I meant I didn’t want to… I didn’t want to bring up the memories for you.’ Kara’s bashful honesty and sweet intentions caught Lena off guard. Her face quirked in a confused smile as she appraised Kara’s profile.

‘You’re not like the people in Binder, Sheriff.’

‘That a good thing?’

‘I’m not sure.’ It _might_ have been a good thing to have someone so pure in charge. I _might_ have been a bad thing for Kara, Binder could swallow her up without bothering to chew. It _was_ a dangerous thing for Lena’s heart. Kara yawned, her face scrunched. Lena’s heart was in a lot of danger.

‘See now, if the white hat and blue shirt hadn’t told me you were one of the good guys, all the yawning past your bed time would have clued me in. Best get you home Sheriff.’

‘Kara.’ Kara said abruptly. ‘Sorry, it’s been bugging me. You keep calling me Sheriff and I feel like if I call you Lena, you should call me Kara.’ Lena smiled with small tilt of her head.

‘Kara it is then.’

They finished their ride in amiable silence and when Kara dismounted Lena sauntered away, calling over her shoulder.

‘Give me a little while to plan my poker tournament and then we can have some fun at Edge’s expense.’

Kara somehow found the energy to virtually skip back to her place, a huge grin on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr - @psychopancakethethird  
> I'm about two thirds of the way through finishing this whole fic, at least a rough draft. Writing Who's Asking? at the same time but I'm starting to think about what I might write next.  
> I have some very vague ideas for a Hospital AU, almost definitely Supercorp, could be some AgentReign. Thoughts?  
> I'm not opposed to writing Sanvers, thought they were a cute ship. But they kinda broke my heart...  
> Seriously let me know what you want, here or on tumblr, I write to entertain and entertaining needs an audience. It's for you.


	12. Confessional

The warm and soothing rays of Sunday morning crept into the room, welcoming Kara to another day. She smiled wide with eyes still closed, sat up eagerly and stretched her hands toward the rafters.

‘You’re awfully happy this morning.’ Alex’s voice hinted at suspicion, but Kara already had an excuse to hand if one was needed. ‘This got anything to do with how late you stumbled in last night?’ The excuse was needed.

‘It’s Sunday!’ Kara excitedly leapt out of bed and rushed to where her only dress hung. Alex watched her with one eye cracked open and half her face smushed into her pillow.

‘I’ve seen you on Sunday every week since we were teenagers. This is not _I’m going to church_ happy.’ Alex closed her eye and an arm flopped off the mattress, her fingers brushing the floor.

‘It’s a new church. I’m excited,’ Kara said while wrangling the fastenings on her elegant blue dress.

Alex’s head wriggled against the pillow in a malformed shake of disbelief.

‘ _This_ is something else.’ Her uncovered arm waved in Kara’s general direction as she spoke. Kara moved to the mirror and began carefully plaiting her hair. She chewed her lip in thought, desperately searching for a way to avoid admitting that just getting to know more about Lena had put an immovable smile on her face.

‘Alex…’ Kara sighed. ‘I’m just happy, it’s Sunday, I’m a sheriff, you’re going to have somewhere to practice medicine. Why wouldn’t I be happy?’

Alex muttered incomprehensibly and opened her eye again. Kara neatened out the sheets on her bed and paced over to Alex’s.

‘I’ll see you after service?’

‘Yeah. Have fun praising and all that.’

‘Enjoy your lie in.’ Alex’s hand stretched out again to wave Kara off before she drifted back to sleep.

Church had never appealed to Alex. For one thing, it seemed like an interruption to her blissful sleep. For another, organised religion just didn’t sit well with her. She could understand the good at the core of the faith, she even tended to follow at least five out of ten commandments. Another one she was a little iffy on because self-defence seemed liked a valid excuse for it. But Alex had always felt uncomfortable in Church services. There was too much judgement, condemnation, hypocrisy and not nearly enough scientific fact in the church for her liking.

So, Alex hadn’t been to church since she was a child. Kara had told her that maybe church had changed since then. Alex doubted it but didn’t want to fight Kara on her faith, she admired Kara’s faith.

 

As she pulled her poncho over her head she wondered what she could do to fill yet another aimless morning. She had already familiarised herself with the lands surrounding Binder. The plant life no longer held much intrigue for her. She resolved to search the town for somewhere to work. She _needed_ to work, before she went completely mad with boredom.

Binder was eerily quiet. She half expected to see a tumbleweed roll through town. Alex gently kicked at the sand with each disappointed step. It seemed as though every building in Binder was either already occupied or was so unsanitary that no amount of cleaning would have it fit for sitting in, never mind carrying out any kind of medical procedure.

 

The sounds of polite chatter drifted towards her and Alex began to make her way towards the church. As she rounded the saloon she saw Kara walking alongside Jon and Winn. They talked amongst each other with smiling faces of familiarity and acceptance. Alex felt a jolt of isolation spike through her but pushed it down to greet them with a pleasant smile.

‘Good morning,’ Alex softly rasped her first words since falling back to sleep after Kara’s departure. The four of them stopped in a loose huddle near the back of the saloon.

‘Morning,’ Winn chimed.

‘Good morning Miss Alex.’ Jon nodded as he spoke and Kara excitedly hugged Alex in greeting.

‘Alex, they don’t have a regular priest here. It’s so weird. But, Miss Grant, I told you about her, she owns all the land. Miss Grant took the service today and it was so inspiring. At first I couldn’t believe a woman was up there preaching but then she spoke and I understood how everyone just accepted it. She’s amazing. It was the most wonderful service I’ve ever attended, you should come with me ne-‘

‘-Kara.’ Alex rested her hands on Kara’s shoulders. ‘You need to breath.’

Kara laughed softly and calmed slightly.

‘She really is a very inspirational speaker,’ Winn said. Alex’s eyes drew to him and she smiled politely.

‘You know the both of you could be the perfect people for me to happen upon this morning.’ Alex appraised Winn and Jon carefully before continuing. ‘The perfect mix of local business knowledge and local gossip.’

‘Technically I run a business as a farrier… I’m not a gossip.’ Jon patted Winn sympathetically on the shoulder and gestured for Alex to continue.

‘I’m looking for a building to turn into a medical surgery. It doesn’t have to be anything too big, just somewhere I can set up a practice.’ Both Winn and Jon sunk deep into thought, after a few moments their eyes met despondently and Winn sighed apologetically.

‘Not a lot of construction has happened in Binder since the mines closed. People build to live but the town’s infrastructure has been side-lined I’m afraid.’ Jon offered a comforting smile but knew it wouldn’t be enough to soothe the blow Alex’s hopes had just taken.

‘Any chance you have the funds to start a new build?’ Winn optimistically asked. A tinkling of spurs caught Alex’s attention and she gazed over Kara’s shoulder to see Lena saddling a horse, cigarette hanging from her lips.

‘I guess I’ll find out.’ She stepped past Kara and raised her voice. ‘Lena.’

Lena finished fastening a strap around her travelling gear and turned her head to the sound of her name. She took a deep drag of nicotine, blowing the smoke into the air like a steam train. Plucking the cigarette from her mouth and flicking it to the ground, she led her horse closer to the group.

‘Good morning Doc… everyone.’ Lena nodded at the huddle.

A chorus of mornings peeled out of them in response. Kara’s angelic tones hitting Lena’s ears the hardest.

‘About your offer… there any chance you’d be willing to extend it to a new construction?’ Alex nervously tugged at her poncho. Kara stepped more fully into Lena’s vision and beamed her brightest smile at her. Alex was too distracted to notice but Winn watched the steady and distant gaze of Lena Luthor melt into open adoration when she saw Kara. It seemed that Jon too had noticed because he cleared his throat, pulling Lena back to attention.

‘Honestly Doc, I thought that was the plan already.’ Alex couldn’t help the surprise slipping across her face.

‘Oh,’ she puffed out.

‘If I’m going to fund a doctor, I’m going to at least make sure the care they can provide meets my standards,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘You find yourself somewhere to build, some men to do the work and the materials to do it. And I’ll pay the bills.’

Alex stuttered over what to say. Generosity on this scale was unheard of as far as Alex was concerned. Once over the initial shock and confusion Kara didn’t seem to doubt it, didn’t seem to question why Lena would do it. Kara had faith. Alex would never agree to a church service but perhaps she could share Kara’s faith in Lena Luthor. She suddenly remembered Kara’s instinct reaction to head out and thank Lena. Alex was not about to forget to thank Lena… again.

‘Thank you. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you enough for this.’

‘Well, don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re still going to have a surgery with the Luthor name on it. It’ll probably scare more patients away than it invites in.’

No one knew whether to laugh at that. It had been said as a joke, they thought. But there was also a painful truth to it. An awkward silence settled in the group, waiting for someone else to break it. Lena’s horse obliged and whinnied, giving Kara the courage to start a new line of conversation.

‘Didn’t see you in church Lena.’ Winn grimaced slightly and tried to hide it by turning has face away.

‘No, you didn’t. Not likely to either,’ Lena said without any kind of malice. Alex arranged her features to denote approval, but Kara looked somewhat disappointed.

‘You’re not of the faith?’ Lena pursed her lips as she considered the right words to respond with. She set her foot into a stirrup and paused.

‘A woman of my appetite tends not to subscribe to the gospel.’ She launched herself onto her horse and trotted away, tipping her hat as she left.

There was clear understanding on Winn’s face and something similar on Jon’s. But Kara’s brow furrowed and she reached up to scratch at the back of her neck. Alex could see cogs grinding and screeching in Kara’s mind as she tried to get them running smoothly. She hooked her arm through Kara’s and pulled her away before she said something that put Jon and Winn in an uncomfortable position. Understanding something was quite different to openly discussing it.

‘Come on, I’ve a plot of land to find.’

Kara absently allowed herself to be dragged along and didn’t register it until they’d made it past the sheriff’s office. The density of the town began to peter out and they excitedly considered every empty space they passed.

They strolled along until they found a sizeable open space backed by a sloping hill. A sprawling oak tree sat at the top and its vibrant red leaves beckoned Alex up. She tugged on Kara’s arm until they were sprinting and racing each other up the hill.

‘You had a head start, you cheater.’

‘You’ve got longer legs than me, it’s only fair.’

‘Stop blocking me out.’

‘Running is a contact sport Kara, get used to it.’

Kara caught Alex’s ankle and pulled her off balance. Alex dramatically rolled to the side and found her footing quickly.

‘You made a mistake.’

‘You said it was a contact sport, that was your mistake.’

‘Not that. Your mistake was…’ Alex lunged and stood on the train of Kara’s dress. ‘… wearing a dress.’ Kara lurched back and flapped her arms to steady herself, leaving Alex to dash past and slap a hand against the tree.

Kara huffed out an aggrieved sigh and pouted, which Alex chose to ignore as she rested her back against the tree trunk, sliding down to the ground. Kara settled next to her and they gazed out along the horizon.

The scrubland of the desert mesa stretched out as far as they could see. The cloudless azure skies strikingly contrasted with the jutting pillars of orange stone piercing it. And the buttery yellow ball of glorious sunshine melted golden accents across everything it touched.

Alex took off her hat and began to gently fan herself with it, the shade of the oak not enough to protect them from the heat of the desert.

‘You like it here in Binder, right?’ Alex said softly after some time. Kara twisted to look at Alex’s profile.

‘I think I do. Something in Binder feels… comfortable. Like home.’ Kara chewed her lip in thought. ‘Can’t decide what it is, but something here feels right. Maybe it’s the job.’

Another silence fell between them, Alex still fanning herself with her eyes studying the landscape. Kara rested her head on Alex’s and sighed softly.

‘You worried about getting the surgery built?’

‘No actually. Feels like it’s really going to happen.’ She let her head drop to Kara’s shoulder and anxiously bit on the inside of her cheek. ‘I’m worried about what happens after.’

‘After?’

‘I always… I love medicine, you know that. I wouldn’t want to do anything else. But it’s not all I want Kar.’ She paused to compose her confession carefully. ‘I always focused on becoming a doctor and having my own surgery, I think because it seemed impossible. If I just focused on that, then everything else would have to wait. And if it was impossible… I wouldn’t have to worry about the other stuff.’

Kara let the words linger for a while before she responded, wanted Alex to know she was really listening. She wasn’t sure where the conversation was going, but it had a heavy feel to it that their conversations didn’t often have.

‘What kinds of other stuff?’ Kara held out her hand for Alex, let herself be a tether in the stormy swirl of thoughts. Alex gripped it tightly.

‘You remember Margaret Sawyer back in National City?’

‘Your friend Maggie? Sure.’ Alex swallowed audibly and fidgeted uncomfortably.

‘She wasn’t just a friend exactly…’

Kara had always known that there was more to Alex and Maggie’s friendship. For a while she’d felt shut out of part of Alex’s life. It had been a lonely time for her, she’d thrown herself into vigilante crime fighting to fill her days. When the friendship had broken down, Kara had been there to put Alex back together again. She’d always known in her heart Alex had lost more than a friend back then.

‘She was more. She was your partner.’ Alex looked up at Kara with a combination of surprise and gratitude.

‘Yeah. Partner is probably the best word for it. We just… we made each other better I guess. We could count on each other to be there.’

‘So… is Maggie one of the things you wanted … to do?’ Alex snorted a giggle at Kara’s fumbling wording.

‘A part of me will always want Maggie.’ Her eyes traced the saloon in the distance and flickered along the main street out of town. ‘But no. I want… I want to have a partner again. I want to have what I had with Maggie. But I want it to be for real, to the end.’ Kara squeezed Alex’s hand, thinking about the idea of herself having a partner. Silence draped over them again as they both fell into deep thought, too personal to voice.

Maggie had broken Alex’s heart, it had shattered into so many pieces she wasn’t sure it could be put back together. As the months passed she slowly glued the shards in place, these days the damage had been so well treated that the only evidence was a single missing piece. She had wrapped it up tightly and protected herself against further breakages. But she could feel the bandages unravelling when she looked into Sam’s eyes, could feel herself longing for Sam’s return to Binder.

Guilt twisted in her stomach at the thought of their last meeting. Sam’s bowed head might have shielded her face from Alex’s view, but in her mind, she could see the hurt in Sam’s expression. Alex had never normally put much stock in town gossip and suddenly realisation struck. She’d been more than just foolish. She’d let herself believe the stories. She’d let herself make excuses to push Sam away because Sam had been the first since Maggie to make her feel understood.

Sat under the oak tree that would hopefully overlook her own medical surgery, Alex realised she had destroyed something that could have been her happiness.

 ‘What do you think Lena meant this morning?’ At the sound of Kara’s voice Alex blinked herself out of a vacant stare.

‘Huh?’

‘What she said about appetite and the gospel? I have a huge appetite, never got in the way of my faith.’ Alex shook her head fondly. Kara was smart, observant and always caught the bad guy. But sometimes she was so unbelievably oblivious it was frightening, it made her a dumbass.

‘I think that’s something you’ll have to ask Lena.’

‘Why?’

‘If she was being cryptic there’s probably a reason.’

‘So you know what she meant and you won’t tell me?’

‘I didn’t say that.’

‘But you do. You do know what she meant.’ Kara huffed loudly.

‘I can guess.’ Alex got to her feet and tugged Kara’s hand. ‘Let’s go find out who we need to talk to about that plot of land.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half way done, hope it's still going strong. The second half is, as expected, where the pace picks up and there's all kinds of action. In the words of Grim_The_Wolf "Saddle up shippers!"
> 
> As always @psychopancakethethird on tumblr.


	13. Stress and Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, we're really gonna hit the ground running with this second half. If you're a particularly squeamish person you may wish to use the find-on-page function and skip straight to "By the time Kara arrived". I don't think it's too bad, but... I'm not squeamish in the least so who knows.

A little over a week had passed since Lena had agreed to fund a new build. Alex had set the wheels in motion but these things took time, or so Kara liked to remind her. The days dragged slowly by, blurring until Alex wasn’t certain which day it was. She itched to stitch someone up, maybe just clean a wound. At this point she would probably have been glad to see someone about a persistent cough. She sat with her feet on the table, leaning back in her chair. The window let in a pleasant breeze that occasionally fluttered her loose white linen shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbow. And she determinedly stared at a book Jon had lent her. Her face was scrunched in focus, her fingers gripped the pages too tightly. Her eyes scanned over the words but none of them sunk in, so she skipped back to the beginning of the page and tried again.

She let out an almighty huff when she failed for the second time and tossed the book onto the table in frustration. She glanced around the room for inspiration and seriously considered the bottle of whisky in the corner just as Jon opened the door smoothly and a frantic man rushed in behind him.

‘Miss Danvers, we need your help.’ Alex scowled at him, years training to be a doctor and apparently she wasn’t one because she was a woman.

‘Sorry to disturb you, Miss Alex. He was quite emphatic that he needed your medical expertise.’ Alex tolerated the “Miss” that Jon used because she knew it was out of awkward politeness.

‘Looks fine to me. What’s the problem?’

‘It’s not me, it’s Michael. Got shot a short while back, didn’t do anything about it. He’s in a sorry state miss and there’s no doctor for twenty miles.’ Alex’s boots landed on the ground with a thud as she shifted in her seat and began to open her book again.

‘No doctor huh?’ She said with faked curiosity.

‘Some of the boys been saying you call yourself a doctor. We don’t know what to do, he’s a mess. You’re the best we’ve got.’ This man was not a smart man. This man made Jon wince in sympathy, for both Alex’s pride and what he imagined Alex would do to a man like that. Jon did not want to be a part of the awkward conversation any longer, but his sense of propriety wouldn’t allow him to leave Alex alone with a strange man. Alex flicked through the pages until she landed on a page she liked the look of and began to read.

‘Please Miss. We need your help.’

‘No Miss in this room. There’s a couple o’ men and a doctor. So which one you talking to?’ He glanced at Jon who kept his face blank. He looked back at Alex who disinterestedly flicked through her book and swallowed his pride.

‘Please Doctor Danvers.’ The book snapped shut, Alex jumped to her feet, ran into her room, grabbed her med kit and charged out the building.

‘Where is he?’ She called over her shoulder.

‘The wheelwright’s workshop.’ Alex took off running along the street, medical bag jangling with metal tools as she went. She skidded in the sand as she reached the large doors and burst in.

Lying in the back of an unfinished wagon was Michael, writhing in agony. His shirt was disgustingly filthy, a combination blood, sweat and infection. The smell was enough to let Alex know what needed to be done even before she’d seen the wound. The men around him looked nervous and repulsed in equal measure.

‘Hold him down while I remove his shirt. He’s going to put up a fight no matter how careful I am.’ Alex set her bag on the cart, opened it to find her scissors and stepped up onto the wagon floor. She glanced down and knew she’d never be able to wear her shirt again. White had seemed like a good choice when she’d gotten dressed in the morning but now there was no way it would stay clean. She could at least take solace in the fact she’d rushed out without her favourite poncho.

The men looked at each other nervously before tentatively gripping Michael’s limbs and holding them steady.

‘Michael, I’m going to cut this shirt off you. It’s probably going to stick to the wound some, try to keep still. The more you move the worse it’ll be,’ Alex spoke in a calm and authoritative voice. He nodded once and stilled against the wood.

Alex began by unbuttoning the shirt and cutting it away from his shoulders, then came the slow process of carefully running the scissors along the arm of his shirt.

‘Gentlemen, those of you of a squeamish disposition might wish to avert your eyes now.’ The men all chose to ignore Alex’s warning. Mistake.

Alex cautiously peeled the material away from Michael’s arm, small amounts of skin peeling with it making him whimper in pain. A fresh wave of the rotten flesh smell, that Alex had already noted, began to permeate the air. One of the men turned away to vomit onto the floor, still valiantly holding one of Michael’s legs down.

‘Jesus…’Another man muttered.

‘What’s your name?’ Alex tipped her head to the man who had asked her for help.

‘Peter.’

‘Well congratulations Peter, you’re my head nurse now.’ Holding back bile in his throat Peter winced at the prospect of getting closer.

‘Doc, I don’t know. That don’t look right.’

‘O’ course it don’t look right. It’s so infected his skin is dying. Necrosis has set in,’ Alex’s voice came out louder and Peter snapped to attention at the sound. Suddenly all his doubts about a female doctor seemed to flee out the doors and he was ready to help.

‘What do you need?’

‘I need a table. Hip height would be nice, drape a clean cloth over it.’ Peter nodded and shot into another room. Alex turned back to Michael’s arm, studying the spread of infection and calculating where she’d need to cut.

She stood up straight and hopped off the wagon.

‘Keep him where he is. I’ll be back soon,’ she commanded as she strode out the wheelwright’s and across the street to the saloon. She burst through the doors and didn’t stop until she was stood at the bar. ‘I’m going to need two bottles of whisky.’

Jess looked at her questioningly but grabbed for the bottles and sat them on the counter. With her hands still resting on the necks she looked imploringly at Alex.

‘Please tell me you aren’t about to drink yourself into oblivion. The town has already got enough drunks.’

‘No need to worry about that. Let’s just call it medicine and I’ll suggest you keep your distance from the wheelwright’s this afternoon.’

Jess nodded with a hint of confusion marking her forehead.

‘On the house then.’

‘Much obliged.’ Alex paced back to her patient.

Upon her return Peter proudly showed her into an adjoining room where he’d put a table in the centre of the cleared floor and covered it as instructed.

‘Excellent. Let’s get the patient on the table.’ Each of the men obediently helped to carry Michael to the table and stepped back. Alex carried her medical bag through and began to set out the instruments she would need.

‘Get him to drink a good amount of this.’ Alex handed Peter one of the bottles as she began to prepare for the surgery, threading a suture needle and a smaller variant.

‘What are you going to do Doc?’

‘Only thing we can do. Amputate.’ Michael’s face snapped to meet her gaze and he began to squirm.

‘You can’t take my arm.’

‘You got a choice here Michael. You can lose your arm, or you can lose your life. Which will it be?’

‘There must be something else that can be done. What if we got the doctor from Plastino in to treat him?’ Another man pitched in his two cents and Alex looked around for a way to return to sender.

‘You could do that… and then by the time he got here Michael would lose even more of his arm, at best,’ Alex said with a tight line of anger wrapping around her words. ‘I know what I’m doing. This infection has spread too far. If he’d come to see me when it happened I’d have cleaned him up, closed the wound and he’d have the beginnings of a scar forming on his arm right now. But he didn’t.’

Michael looked at the men surrounding him and realised he’d run out of allies in the fight for his arm.

‘It was your sister that shot me! You have to do something to help.’

‘If my sister shot you, then you were doing something you _really_ shouldn’t have been. You’re lucky I’m treating you at all.’ There was a vague murmur of agreement and Michael gulped for words to talk him out the mess he had gotten himself into. Alex folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot impatiently.

‘Am I taking your arm off or should we start digging your grave?’ There were a number of reasons for Alex to have been irritable. Her authority was constantly undermined by misogynists, she had probably ruined her chances with Sam such as they had been, she hadn’t gotten to do anything besides patch up a hand since she’d gotten to Binder, and the smell wasn’t pleasant no matter how well she visibly dealt with it. But she suspected that what annoyed her most was Michael’s face. He had the kind of face that would serve him well with the average woman, it had a boyish charm to it. But there was nothing average about Alex, she watched it contorting into unwarranted anger and accusation. His bothersome face searched for someone else to blame for his failings.

Alex uncorked the other bottle of whisky and took a long swig, eyes still locked on Michael, eyebrow raised in question.

‘I… I think she might be right Mike… it don’t look good,’ the man who had emptied his guts in the other room cautiously spoke. Michael gulped another deep breath and nodded almost imperceptibly.

 ‘Right. Gentlemen, this is going to be disgusting, hard to listen to and incredibly painful. But I’ll make this quick as I can.’ Alex handed a sponge to Peter and had him clean around Michael’s upper bicep with whisky. She pulled a firm strap of leather and smaller piece from her bag. She wrapped the strap tightly around Michael’s arm, above the progressing line of infection.

‘Any of you who are going to pass out when I start, best leave now. The rest of you might wish to steel your nerves with liquid courage.’ Two of the men bashfully sidled out the room, leaving just Peter and two other men.

‘You,’ Alex pointed at one of the unnamed men.

‘Jeremiah.’

‘Hold his legs still.’ Alex turned to the next man and raised a brow.

‘Andrew,’ he whispered.

‘You need to hold his other arm and torso if you can.’ She turned to Peter. ‘You’re on loose limb duty I’m afraid.’ Peter gulped loudly.

‘Loose limb duty?’

‘Gonna need you to hold the bad arm steady and stop it falling.’ Peter shuddered but nodded. Alex stretched out her arms and took a deep steadying breath. She picked up a blade, held it over Michael’s arm and shoved the smaller piece of leather into his mouth.

‘This is going to hurt… a lot.’

The agony on his face was evidence enough even without the muffled grunts of pain around the leather bit. But Alex sliced through the skin quickly and cleanly. She didn’t hesitate to place the blade down and pick up the bone saw. A few sharp back and forth motions of the saw and Peter discovered what loose limb meant as he struggled to wrangle the arm under control, surprised by the weight of it. Michael was tensing and pushing against the hands holding him in place, screams of pain ringing out around the leather strip. No doubt passers-by were horrified by the noise.

Never pausing in her movements Alex had swapped out the bone saw for a needle and thread, carefully tying up blood vessels. She deftly stopped the bleeding with a focused expression. Her hands were covered in blood, she knew her shirt was fairing no better, an apron would have been a good idea. She changed to the larger needle while removing the leather strap from Michael’s arm. With swift easy movements she stitched what was left of Michael’s arm closed and tied off the suture. His face wet with tears began to relax as she straightened out and stepped away from him.

The whole procedure had taken less than a minute. The pain it inflicted was unimaginable but fortunately for Michael, Alex wasn’t just a doctor, she was a bloody good one. Not that any of them knew that. The fastest doctors could amputate a limb in a little over thirty seconds, and they’d had a lot of opportunity to practice. She proudly examined her work.

‘Thank you gentlemen, you made wonderful nurses.’ Alex couldn’t resist reminding them the gender roles had reversed. ‘Where can I clean my hands?’ She lifted her bloody palms to them and they directed her to the water pump outside.

She headed straight out and washed the blood away while passing eyes looked on in alarm. She simply nodded with a smile and finished her task. Back with her patient she cleaned up her work with whisky and a cloth.

‘I’d suggest next time you get yourself in this situation you see a doctor sooner.’ She looked at him unsympathetically as she collected her instruments for cleaning.

‘Thank you Doc,’ Peter whispered as she left.

 

By the time Kara arrived back in the afternoon Alex had cleaned her equipment and put it all away. She had just finished changing clothes and was solemnly mourning her white shirt.

‘You made quite the impression today,’ Kara excitedly called as she strolled through the door and plopped down in a chair.

‘One of us has got to,’ Alex said with a smug grin on her face. There was nothing as satisfying as getting stuck in to real medical work.

‘Rude.’

‘Want to celebrate?’

‘Celebrate my sister chopping a guy’s arm off?’ Kara hummed in exaggerated thought. ‘Heck yeah I do.’ Alex jumped to her feet and pulled her poncho over her head. Kara stood up and tapped Alex’s hat onto her head before leading the charge to the saloon.

 

They quickly discovered they weren’t the only ones in Binder with cause to celebrate as they spotted Lena knocking glasses with a newly returned Sam. Lena’s eyes instantly met Kara’s and she waved the Danvers sisters over. Alex internally groaned, this was not how she had planned to celebrate. She had no idea how Sam would react to her presence and she wanted to relax after the day she’d had.

But Kara was already bounding over to their table. She trudged along behind and nervously smiled at Sam.

‘Sam. How long you been back?’ Kara asked in a friendly manner.

‘Just got back this afternoon.’ She swigged her drink and politely nodded to Alex

‘Either of you two to blame for the horrific noise earlier?’ Lena queried while pouring out drinks for everyone.

‘Alex did it!’ Kara excitedly yelled and Lena laughed fondly.

‘Aren’t you doctors supposed to “do no harm”?’

‘Well Lena, I did the best I could with what I had. He’d be doing a lot better if my “law abiding” sister didn’t shoot at everyone who annoyed her. Technically that horrific noise was her fault.’

‘I did tell all three of them to come see you for medical attention, long before infection. Tell her Lena.’ Lena raised a glass and nodded with a mischievous smile.

‘Three?! Please tell me I’m not about to get summoned to help lop off some more body parts.’

‘I can’t make promises reliant on that level of stupidity seeking out help when it’s needed.’

‘Why did you even shoot three people?’ The four women all knocked back a round of shots.

‘I only shot one! The others were Lena.’ Lena hid her guilty face as she poured another round of shots. ‘And anyway, they started it. Didn’t know when to put their weapons away,’ Kara added.

‘That’s the trouble with men…’ Lena giggled softly. Kara and Lena fell into an innuendo laden conversation about the bar brawl that had started the whole mess. Alex caught Sam’s eye and an apology wrote itself across her face. Sam only nodded and turned away to watch Kara and Lena.

Alex reached out without thinking about it. Thinking had gotten her into this mess, so she might as well try not thinking for once. She settled her hand on top of Sam’s and leaned in close to her ear.

‘Can we talk somewhere, privately?’ Her warm breath brushed across the shell of Sam’s ear and sent a shiver down her spine. Sam nodded softly, her cheek brushing against Alex’s. She stood up quietly and led Alex with their joined hands, upstairs to her room.

Alex’s stomach was somersaulting over itself as they walked through the door, Sam closing it behind them. Butterflies had turned into full grown birds flapping around in there and mixed with the nervous hurricane of guilt. None of the words she could string together seemed to be the right way to start. Then it hit her, if thinking was the wrong thing to do, maybe talking was the wrong thing to do.

Sam’s lithe figure leant back against the door, expectantly waiting for whatever Alex wanted to talk about. Her deep mahogany eyes seemed to shine with shame and sadness. Alex let instinct take over, she reached up and slowly removed Sam’s hat, keeping their eyes fixed in an intense stare. She tossed it aside and cupped Sam’s cheeks softly, running her thumbs over the blushing swell. Sam’s lips parted and a low gasp escaped.

Alex rocked up on her toes and pressed into Sam’s soft and welcoming lips. She responded instantly with mouth and hands, tipping Alex’s hat to the floor and wrapping an arm around her waist while her free hand gripped her thigh, pulling it until it was wrapped around her. The kiss, that started so carefully, quickly turned frantic and needy, fierce heat building between them. Sam licked across Alex’s lips and they parted for her instinctively. Alex’s hands ran back into silky umber strands and gripped tightly as she pushed her harder into the door.

Sam’s hand ghosted up Alex’s side and under her poncho before she began to tug it off. They broke their kiss, gasping for air, to let the poncho pass between them and tumble to the floor. The soft material thudding on the ground was like the drop of a handkerchief at the start of a race, everything knocked into high gear. It signalled the beginning of a flurry of explorative kisses on every inch of exposed skin as they tore clothes off each other. Sam pushed Alex toward the bed and down into the mattress. She trailed hot open-mouthed kisses down Alex’s sternum, running across the planes of her abdomen before sliding her tongue over Alex’s hip bone.

A moan peeled from her in response and she dragged Sam’s mouth back to hers. She rolled them both over and straddled Sam’s hips as she licked, kissed and sucked at her neck. They pushed and pulled for dominance while their hands and mouths mapped out each other’s bodies.

When Alex shoved her against the headboard and rocked her heated core along Sam’s firm stomach, leaving a slick trail of arousal, she smiled smugly into another kiss. But Sam needed to know every part of Alex and her mouth trailed down Alex’s soft neck again. Her fingertips caressed the tight lines of Alex’s back, sending a jolt through Alex that drew Sam’s attention to her chest. She darted her tongue out and flicked at Alex’s hardening nipple before lavishing her breasts with her mouth. Alex arched into the feeling with closed eyes and groaned with pleasure. She barely felt Sam’s gentle fingers trace down her tense abdominals aimlessly, until they delved into the increasingly wet heat at the apex of her thighs.

‘Sam,’ Alex gasped and rolled against the fingers running through her wet folds. Her mouth still attentively pleasuring Alex’s firm nipples, she slid a finger inside and revelled in the tight feel. Alex nestled her fingers in Sam’s hair and rocked hard against her hand, while Sam started a steady rhythm and slipped another finger in, causing a loud moan of pleasure to rip from Alex’s mouth.

With Alex riding her fingers Sam gently bit down on a nipple and tugged lightly, pushing her closer to the edge. She ground her palm into Alex with each thrust of fingers and watched her come undone on top of her. Alex’s body tensed, her head rolled back in ecstasy and she groaned Sam’s name as she teased every last drop of pleasure from Alex. They were a gasping, sweaty pile of tangled limbs. Alex nipped gentle kisses along Sam’s jaw as she recovered.

She ran her tongue down Sam’s neck and slowly worked hands and lips down her body until she had comfortably nestled herself between Sam’s legs. Her heavy breaths stroking across Sam’s core intensified the throbbing that begged for release. Sam gulped in anticipation and Alex grinned devilishly. Sam was almost coming already, after seeing Alex come undone and then settling between her legs.

Alex swiped a broad stroke along Sam’s folds, teasingly gentle.

‘Alex, please,’ Sam pleaded. Alex smiled and mercifully focused her tongue on Sam’s clit before sucking it between her lips. Sam tangled her fingers in Alex’s hair and pulled her closer. Alex skilfully worked Sam up to the edge with ease and tipped her over with a stuttering gasp. Lapping up everything Sam had to give before she crawled up her body to share the taste.

Alex collapsed across Sam’s body and lay comfortably, tenderly stroking along her arm.

‘That was some talk,’ Sam rasped and Alex let out a breathy laugh of agreement.


	14. The Giggles

Leaning as far over the counter as she could, pushed onto the balls of her feet, Lena pouted at Jess. The early afternoon saloon crowd was, as usual, fairly light and Jess busied herself by polishing glasses rather than falling victim to a Lena Luthor pout.

‘Pleeeeease Jess.’

‘You know I hate serving that kind of crowd,’ she muttered, squinting at the glass in her hands.

‘But you’re the only one I can trust. Anyone else in this town would sell their grandmother for two bucks. You’re the only I know won’t get bribed into cheating.’

‘Why don’t you or Sam serve?’ Lena was ready with a response but before it left her lips a hand smacked hard against her ass and she let out a yelp.

‘That’s for Reign,’ Sam said with a laugh. ‘We can’t serve because we’re playing. Can’t be getting up and wandering around, would just cause trouble.’ Lena sunk back onto her feet properly and scowled at Sam.

‘Reign don’t gotta sit on her butt, that was a disproportionate response.’

‘Oooh, cracking out the big words today. Jess cut you off again?’

‘Matter of fact, I have. She’s not having any more alcohol til she leaves me alone about this stupid poker tournament.’

‘Aww, come on Jess. Everyone this side of Metropolis knows you’re the best tender around.’ Sam grinned cheekily at her and clasped her hands together on the counter. ‘Pleeease, you’d give our tournament some class.’

Jess might have been able to turn down one of them, but two? Highly unlikely. Everyone saw their bad reputations and ignored any factual evidence to the contrary. But not Jess, she saw these women on a daily basis when Sam was in town. Jess saw their friendship and how hard they worked to support each other. There was nothing cold about them, they were both mush on the inside. How could she turn down two sets of warm pleading eyes?

‘I hate you both.’ Sam and Lena vaulted over the counter and wrapped Jess into a crushing hug.

‘Thank you!’ Lena was very close to squealing the words.

‘You’re a doll, thanks.’

‘Will you let me have a drink now?’

‘No,’ she huffed. ‘Be sober and drama free for the afternoon and I’ll think about it.’

‘Lena, drama free?’ Sam snorted in laughter at the thought. ‘She’ll never drink again.’

Lena pouted but Jess turned away to serve one of the few patrons. She gave Sam a light shove and started for the parlour upstairs.

‘I am not that dramatic. I’ll be celebrating our good fortune this evening, just you wait.’

‘If it’s alright with you I won’t be holding my breath. No doubt whatever it is you think we’re going to be celebrating comes courtesy of some drama.’

They slung themselves across the armchairs near the unlit fireplace. They didn’t often use the room, it was too far away from the bar to be any good when they were awake, and it had no bed to be any good for sleep. Still, sat on the small side table a delicate bouquet of desert flowers sat, bringing colour to the dreary room.

‘Go on then. What drama did I miss while I was away?’ Lena huffed an offended gasp in response. She shuffled in the chair, mulled the words over in her mind and began her story of absolutely no drama.

‘I didn’t stick around, you know this town is too dramatic for me... Went out to Plastino to lure in our whales.’ Sam perked up in her seat and gestured for her to continue.

‘Well turns out my name is good for one thing. It draws a poker crowd. Even managed to get Morgan Edge to consider coming. Which is good because I’ve got a little surprise planned for him…’ She trailed off, noticing the widening smirk on Sam’s face.

‘You really can’t help making drama, can you?’

‘What?’

‘I hardly think your surprise for Edge is going to be a box of chocolates.’ Sam’s eyebrow raised in challenge. Lena’s face contorted through a range of emotions beginning with denial and ending in frustrated acceptance.

‘I don’t go looking for it, it just finds me.’

‘Uh huh.’

‘It does. I’m helping the sheriff out because Edge is causing trouble around Binder.’

‘I’m sure the sheriff, in her infinite wisdom, asked herself what to do about Edge and decided that roping Lena Luthor in was an excellent idea.’

‘Well… I offered to help… And maybe I came up with the whole plan,’ Lena said in a strange kind of defiant surrender. ‘But I won’t be doing anything more than setting wheels in motion.’

‘And I’ll bet you were more than a few drinks in by the time you came up with this cunning plan too.’ Lena’s silence told Sam all she needed to know. ‘See, this is why Jess has cut us off. You get us in too much trouble.’

Lena let out an affronted gasp and placed a hand over her chest.

‘Me? Remind me again, which one of us crashed a wagon into Blüdhaven’s smithy?’ Sam muttered under her breath and rubbed at her forehead in a subconscious attempt to erase the memory.

‘That wasn’t entirely my fault, horse startled…’ she sighed before suddenly perking up and pointing an accusatory finger at Lena. ‘And you were the one that started that whole thing anyway. I was only drunk driving that wagon because we were making a getaway from Star City. And we were only doing that because _somebody_ thought it would be a good idea to break into the Lord Mesa Bakery for a late-night snack.’

‘Yes, because _someone_ had added a little something extra to my cigarettes.’

‘Oh, like you didn’t notice.’ The pair of them descended into a fit of giggles as vague flashes of memories flickered through their minds. Eventually they pulled themselves together and wiped away the tears of laughter.

‘So, what else happened then?’ Sam asked with accusatory suspicion.

‘Was that not enough drama for you?’

‘It was more than enough for me, but I leave you alone for more than a week I know you’ll do more than plot anarchy.’ Lena rolled her eyes but didn’t really have it in her to argue her innocence any more.

‘Well, let’s see… there was a gun fight down stairs. Doc Danvers cooked me breakfast after finding me in my ditch.’ Sam’s attention snapped to a focus, waiting for more detail. ‘And… oh, my mother made an appearance. She wants me to rob some wagon convoy or another. I don’t know, she was pretty vague.’

There was a glum look on Sam’s face that Lena couldn’t explain but as soon as their eyes met Sam hid it behind a mask of smiles.

‘Your mother is where you get the dramatics from.’

‘She certainly knows how to make a scene.’

‘I assume you told her where to go.’

‘I did,’ Lena sighed. ‘Then she told me she’d rat us out to the sheriff if I didn’t do this for her. Well, more precisely she said she’d rat _me_ out, but she knows you help me, so I’ll just keep playing along for now.’

‘You know I’m going to help sort this out, right?’

‘I’d be quite hurt if you didn’t,’ Lena said with a smile. The pair of them relaxed into silence as they slouched deeper in their chairs and breathed in the musty scent of the disused room. Sam took off her hat to lay her head back properly and ran her fingers along the rim. Lena caught sight of the pink line marking her healing wound and suddenly she recognised the glum look she had seen on Sam’s face.

‘When you gonna ask me about my breakfast with Doc Danvers then?’ Swallowing hard, Sam’s eyes widened.

‘What’s there to know? Bored doctor takes pity on town drunk and they share a meal.’

‘Don’t act coy with me Samantha. I know there are questions burning on that tongue of yours.’

‘I hardly think so, Lutessa.’ Lena bristled at the name, but it only encouraged her emotional prodding.

‘Oh, so you don’t want to know if I was more successful at the quietly mysterious bit?’ Sam shot bolt up right and threw a cushion at Lena with expert precision, right in the face. Lena devilishly laughed.

‘You… you didn’t…’ Sam couldn’t even ask the question, despite knowing the answer would be an emphatic no. She couldn’t meet Lena’s eyes, shyly studying the floor through guilt.

‘Of course I didn’t hit on your not very secret crush,’ she smiled wryly. ‘Did have a very interesting conversation with her though…’ she trailed off because drama is attracted to her. Definitely not because she herself is dramatic. Sam’s eyes shot up to meet Lena’s. It took her a moment to force out the question that her heart desperately pulled back on.

‘What about?’

‘Hmm,’ she tapped her finger on her lips. ‘Let me think… there was a bit about Lex. She’s a very perceptive woman.’ Lena bit her lip to keep from smiling at the pained exasperation on Sam’s face. ‘And we talked about her sister being out of town.’

Sam flopped back in the chair and groaned.

‘What else?... hmm. Oh yeah… talked a lot about you.’ Sam sighed and shook her head.

‘Why are you like this?’

‘The Luthor genes I think,’ she said with a wicked grin.

‘I hate you.’

‘That’s awfully rude. I may just have to go and find pleasant conversation elsewhere. Maybe Doc is free.’ At that exact moment a blood curdling scream of muffled agony rang out from across the street.

‘Good to know I’m not the only one being tortured this afternoon,’ Sam said drily and Lena cackled gleefully.

‘You should be thanking me you know.’

‘For prodding my bruised heart?’

‘You really can be poetic… No, I’m funding her new medical office. She’s going to be sticking around in Binder for quite some time yet.’ Sam shot back upright again and stared at Lena, not knowing what emotion to cling to.

‘Just because I think she’s pretty?’ Lena squinted at Sam in confused offence.

‘No. God, you must think I am a fool with my money. She’s good people and we could do with a doctor around.’

‘I honestly believe that you would spend that kind of money just because a friend asked… but whatever the reason, thank you.’

‘I did not do this for you, I was trying to do a good thing.’

‘Uh huh.’

‘Is this what I get for being good?’

‘You can hardly blame me for being sceptical about a Luthor acting out of the goodness of her heart…’ Lena threw the cushion back at Sam with the same harsh accuracy.

‘It’s starting to get noisy downstairs, you think Jess will serve us yet?’

‘God, I hope so. This has been so boring,’ Sam replied with a grin twisting her face.

‘Sometimes I wonder why we’re even friends.’ Lena shook her head as she stood up and stretched.

‘Because you love me.’ Sam lurched to her feet and slung an arm around Lena’s shoulders.

Lena hummed in a non-committal way and fell into step with Sam, the pair of them awkwardly crossing over each other’s strides and starting a peculiar walk as they descended the stairs.

Jess rewarded their half an afternoon of good behaviour by letting them share a bottle of whisky and before long they were happily sat at a table, drinking, joking and laughing.

Quarter of a bottle later the slight squeak of the saloon doors swinging open sounded and Lena felt a prickle of heat run down her neck as the hairs stood on end. She turned her gaze across the room and connected to sapphire pools, shining with glee. Lena couldn’t help the smile forming as she waved Kara and Alex over.

‘Sam. How long you been back?’ Kara’s musical voice pushed the smile further across Lena’s face. Sam shot Lena an irritated expression as she swigged her drink. The last person Sam had wanted to drink with at that moment in time was Alex Danvers, and here Lena was, inviting her over.

‘Just got back this afternoon.’ Sam managed to nod politely at Alex without breaking her stoic façade. Lena kicked her under the table and rolled her eyes.

‘Either of you two to blame for the horrific noise earlier?’ She tossed out the question, trying to get an amicable conversation going for Sam to slip into.

‘Alex did it!’ Kara was quick to point the finger and the excitable look in her eyes made Lena laugh.

‘Aren’t you doctors supposed to “do no harm”?’

 ‘Well Lena, I did the best I could with what I had. He’d be doing a lot better if my “law abiding” sister didn’t shoot at everyone who annoyed her. Technically that horrific noise was her fault.’

‘I did tell all three of them to come see you for medical attention, long before infection. Tell her Lena.’ Kara turned to her with a pleading pout and Lena was in trouble, big trouble. She had, she thought, been coping with her very minor and very unrequited crush on Kara Danvers with absolute grace. But that pout was melting her heart and it wasn’t long before her thoughts were free falling into the gutter, considering all the other ways she could have Kara pleading.

Lena raised a glass and nodded as she cleared her throat. She could feel her lips stuck in a smile that had turned just shy of wicked with all the thoughts running through her mind.

‘Three?! Please tell me I’m not about to get summoned to help lop off some more body parts.’ Sam grasped the bottle and poured a round of shots, quietly groaning about her predicament and longing for the black-out drunk stage.

‘I can’t make promises reliant on that level of stupidity seeking out help when it’s needed.’

‘Why did you even shoot three people?’ The four women all knocked back a round of shots.

‘I only shot one! The others were Lena.’ Lena had to cover her face with her glass, she had only fond thoughts of her team work with Kara. Which perhaps was not the appropriate response to having shot two men. ‘And anyway, they started it. Didn’t know when to put their weapons away,’ Kara added.

‘That’s the trouble with men…’ Lena giggled softly around the rim of her cup.

‘Not the only trouble…’ Kara trailed off, turning her body toward Lena and gazing at her fondly.

‘No, they fire prematurely too.’ The pair of them leant against each other, falling into alcohol warmed laughter.

‘They certainly had me diving for cover.’ Lena’s next laugh came out in a loud bark and they each downed another shot. The conversation rumbled on for some time before Kara looked over to explain a joke to Alex.

‘Where’d they go?’ Kara managed to hit almost every syllable perfectly, the slur was barely there. Lena shrugged and basked in the warmth of the woman at her side.

‘I don’t know where… But I can guess why.’ Kara bobbed her head to look at Lena questioningly and the drunken flush on her cheeks was obvious.

‘Doc was mean to my friend, she’s got some apologising to do.’ It could be said that Lena had put her body through a rigorous regime of training over a number of years. She had the constitution of a large man when it came to alcohol. But Lena had begun drinking long before Kara had turned up. The pair of them were on even footing and had become far more tactile. Lena slung a floppy arm over Kara’s shoulders.

‘Alex is mean to everyone so...’ Kara pointed an index finger in the air to emphasise whatever it was she was trying to say… she had forgotten. ‘Wait, I was saying something… Oh. Alex is a big meanie. But she’s lovely really. Sam shouldn’t take it personally.’

‘She was nice to me.’

‘She was?’ Kara’s face lit up.

‘Miss Luthor, I’m closing up now. Please try to sleep in a bed tonight.’ Jess tentatively interrupted them and shuffled away without waiting for a response.

‘Why wouldn’t you sleep in a bed?’ Kara’s crinkled brow of confusion wobbled with sadness.

‘Sometimes I go walk about instead… Unless Sam makes sure I don’t.’ Kara leapt out of her chair, slid her glass onto the table and offered her hand to Lena.

‘Sam’s not here. I’ll cover for her.’

‘Such a gentleman,’ Lena whispered as she grasped Kara’s hand and leant against her while they stumbled up the stairs.

Lena sunk onto her bed immediately, leaning back on her hands and smiling dopily at Kara as she sat on the edge of the mattress. Kara stood close by with uncertainty reflecting in her eyes.

‘Sit with me Kara,’ Lena said while patting the mattress. Kara plopped down heavily but huffed loudly as she obviously tried to work through a complicated dilemma. Lena reached up and tucked a lock of golden hair behind Kara’s ear while studying the shifting expression of thought on Kara’s mesmerising face. Kara suddenly straightened out her posture and turned to face Lena, decision made and mouth opening to speak.

‘What did you mean by appetite?’ Lena blinked and licked her lips in thought, a movement that did not go unnoticed by Kara’s wandering eyes.

‘You’re going to have to give me more to go on here.’

‘Before, when we were talking about church. You said you had the wrong appetite for it.’ Lena laughed softly to herself. She studied all the subtle variations of blue that streaked across Kara’s irises. She must have found her confidence there, or in the bottle, because she slowly began to lean in to Kara. She gently planted a finger under Kara’s chin and placed a tender kiss on Kara’s soft lips. When she pulled away ever so slightly she held her finger in place and watched Kara carefully.

‘Oh.’ Kara swallowed thickly, slightly licking her lips and leaning in again.

Their mouths sloppily moved against each other with a hunger that only seemed to grow. Lena flicked Kara’s hat across the room before chasing it up with her own, lips locked all the while. Kara’s fingers wound their way into dark locks of hair and pulled Lena closer. Happy to oblige Lena swung her leg over Kara’s lap and comfortably straddled her before slipping Kara’s wild rag away from her neck. She eagerly ran her mouth down to the newly uncovered skin while tugging the buttons of Kara’s shirt open.

‘Lena,’ she gasped and tightened her hold on Lena’s hair.

Lena licked along her collarbone sending a jolt through her. Suddenly Kara need more skin against hers. She ran her fingers down Lena’s neck and tussled with the fastenings of her corset while Lena tugged at the flimsy fabric of Kara’s bra. There was a tearing sound followed by a not particularly apologetic ‘oops’ from Lena as she tossed the remnants of Kara’s bra over her shoulder.

She couldn’t help giggling and Kara joined her before exasperatedly exclaiming.

‘I can’t undo this stupid corset!’ Which only made Lena laugh harder and push Kara back onto the bed. She moved her mouth back to Kara’s and tugged at her lower lip amid the fits of laughter rippling between them. When Kara slipped her tongue into Lena’s mouth again the lust burned hotter and the giggles died down.

Lena pulled away, sitting up and admiring the body beneath her. She ran her fingertips up Kara’s defined abs as she trailed her way towards her breasts. She bit her lip, eyes fixed on Kara’s and hands palming her chest.

‘No fair,’ Kara huffed with a pout and tugged at Lena’s corset again. Lena considered waiting until Kara was pleading, the thought had definitely appealed earlier, but she wanted to feel Kara’s exploration as much as Kara wanted it. Green eyes, darkened by desire, watched Kara’s reaction as she slowly reached back and pulled her corset loose.

Faster than Lena could even really register the movement, Kara had pushed herself up and tugged away the layers separating their torsos. The warm press of their bodies stoking the rising heat between her legs. Their lips met with teeth and tongues while excited hands roamed freely.

Kara kicked off her boots and the clattering sound started Lena’s infectious giggling again. As her chest stuttered with laughs Kara’s mouth drifted down to tease at Lena’s nipple. Kara managed to pull Lena’s boots off too and threw them to the ground loudly, drawing more laughs from Lena between gasping moans.

Lena’s hand coasted down the planes of Kara’s stomach in search of the fastenings on her trousers. Her head craned back in a groaning sigh, while Kara moved her pleasuring assault to Lena’s other breast. Partly thanks to the copious amounts of alcohol consumed and partly thanks to the excellent work Kara was doing, Lena fumbled fruitlessly with Kara’s trousers. This time it was Kara who started their giggling interlude, resting her forehead on Lena’s sternum.

‘I can’t get them off…’ Lena said despondently

‘I noticed,’ Kara chuckled and shook her head against Lena’s chest. How could she not? While she was there…

‘Help me out?’

‘Only if you help me with your skin-tight leather.’ Kara pressed a kiss to the centre of Lena’s chest and spanked the tight leather stretched across Lena’s ass.

‘Deal.’

Kara lifted Lena up with ease as she rose to her feet, tugging off each other’s trousers and under wear, giggling the whole time. They fell back onto the bed with Kara’s over heated body pressing Lena’s into the mattress, and mouths working together.

Fiery desire back on track, their hands began to caress newly uncovered thighs, cheeks and hips. Kara’s eager hand drifted along the inside of Lena’s creamy white thighs and her fingers pressed into her wet heat.

‘Kara,’ Lena moaned across Kara’s ear, making her shudder and start circular movements around Lena’s clit. Lena arched into it and let her own hand feel for the arousal dripping between Kara’s legs.

Their bodies found a rhythm as they toyed with each other, building the other up before pulling away and revelling in the moans of loss. Every time she saw the pleasure building on Lena’s face Kara felt herself getting closer to the edge. So, she wasn’t surprised when Lena had tipped her over the edge first. Gasping, moaning and spasming in pleasure, Kara valiantly kept working her fingers until Lena joined her in toe curling ecstasy. Collapsing against her as soon as she was no longer needed.

Their limbs tangled together and as their breathing began to shallow they fell asleep in each other’s arms.


	15. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments have been a delight to read, thank you all so much. I try to reply if I can, I hope I haven't missed anyone.  
> Honestly I've never written fan-fic before, nor have I written smut before so that was a real challenge. I just can't believe the response has been so lovely.

The first thing Kara noticed was the pounding in her head. She had most certainly drunk too much the night before. The sunlight pouring in through the windows was too much for her to deal with immediately, so it took her a few more moments to consider the unusually soft bedsheets. And more importantly, the warm body wrapped up in her arms.

Memories of the night before rushed back, she sighed in satisfaction with a smile growing across her face. She snuggled closer to Lena, burying her face in Lena’s dark hair and brushing her nose along Lena’s thoroughly kissable neck.

Kara liked to learn at least one new thing every day. Before she’d even opened her eyes, she had learned that Lena Luthor used a rose water soap. And if that was all she learned for the day she was more than happy.

Lena sighed in her sleep and gripped Kara’s arm tighter. If Kara had been able to pull her hand free she would have bitten down on her fist to keep from squealing in delight. As it was, her lip would have to do.

The soft rattle of a door opening and closing down the hallway, followed by footsteps that were definitely creeping, forced Kara to join the realms of complete consciousness. She needed to get up, dressed and back home before Alex worried about where she might have gotten to. She pouted to the heavens, allowing herself two more minutes of luxuriating in everything Lena.

She steadily and gently separated their bodies and tugged on her clothing. She hated the idea of leaving without saying anything, but she also hated the idea of disturbing Lena’s sleep. Sadly, there were no conveniently placed writing materials in Lena’s room. She tiptoed over to where her hat lay and shoved it onto her head while formulating a plan. Plans did not come easily to groggy headache ridden brains, but Kara was pretty proud of what she came up with.

With every ounce of quiet she could muster she sunk down to her knees at the side of Lena’s bed. She wrapped her wild rag around Lena’s wrist and tied a loose knot. Slightly blood shot blue eyes were allowed one more longing stare before Kara slid the window open and clambered out. She had determined the risk of her getting caught inside a mostly still asleep building was greater than the risk of her being spotted toppling out a first-floor window. Her brain still needed some time to catch up with sense.

Her landing was anything but graceful. By some miracle however, no one seemed to be around to see it. She straightened herself up, dusted herself off and started her confident strut back home. When she rounded the corner she very nearly walked straight into Alex.

‘Oh… hey Al…’ Kara cleared her throat, still hoarse thanks to alcohol and certain vocalisations from the night before. Alex seemed to be equally flustered but thanks to her relatively sober evening she adjusted quickly.

‘Hey. I was just out… walking. Just enjoying the morning air.’ Alex smiled too wide, too forced, too suspicious. ‘What are you doing out so early?’

‘Err… I… too.’ Kara rubbed her forehead and willed her brain to function. ‘I too am … walking. In the morning. For the air.’ Nailed it.

‘How much did you drink last night?’ Alex muttered between laughs.

‘Too much,’ Kara groaned as she put a hand over Alex’s mouth to make her quieten down. Alex broke away from Kara’s grasp and took in a deep breath, ready to shout out her response.

‘LET’S GET YOU SOME BREAKFAST!’

‘I hate you,’ she grumbled, trailing along behind Alex.

‘SORRY I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THE THUMPING OF YOUR BRAIN!’ Kara’s face contorted into a half pout, half scowl as she caught up to Alex and put her in a headlock, clasping a hand over her mouth.

Alex mumbled incomprehensibly into Kara’s palm and tried to wriggle free as they awkwardly made their way up the stairs to their lodgings. Kara looked down at her smugly before she caught the glint in Alex’s eye.

Alex slobbered all over Kara’s hand before she could pull it away.

‘Yuck! Aleeeex. That’s so gross.’ She wiped her hand dry on Alex’s poncho and slumped into a chair at the kitchen table.

‘Punishment for using your inhuman strength on me.’ Alex ducked into their bedroom to wash and change clothes while Kara placed her folded arms on the table and rested her head on them, eyes tightly shut. She returned to start cooking breakfast and was fairly certain Kara had fallen back to sleep.

When Alex gently placed a plate, piled high with food, in front of Kara, all was forgiven. She perked up immediately, excitedly tucking into her meal.

‘What’s on your agenda of boredom for today then?’ Kara said with a sympathetic expression. But found that Alex was not nearly as despondent as she had been expecting. Alex had a smile fixed to her face. Come to think of it, Alex hadn’t stopped smiling since they’d bumped into each other. That fleeting suspicion from before Kara’s brain could work was returning.

‘Construction crew is going to be breaking ground on the site today. Gonna head on over after this.’

‘That’s today? Already? Wow.’

‘You say already, I say about damn time,’ Alex grumbled.

‘We’re really doing it Alex. We’re living our dreams.’ If Kara’s mind hadn’t rushed past her new job and run straight to the night before, she might have noticed her expression of blissful contentment mirrored on Alex’s face. But Kara’s eyes glazed over with visions of Lena stretched out underneath her, raven locks splayed across the pillows, lower lip between her teeth.

‘We certainly are.’ There was a distinct rumble to Alex’s voice, not one Kara was familiar with and she cocked her head in thought. Alex cleared her throat and pressed on. ‘You want to head over with me?’

‘Sure. Don’t think anyone will be starting any trouble today. Not after you cut off a man’s arm yesterday…’ Alex scoffed out a small laugh and lightly shoved Kara’s arm.

‘You think maybe Lena, and Sam, might want to come?’ Kara didn’t really care whether they did or not, she was already planning out how she could sneak away with Lena. There was a surprising number and variety of plans being filed for further consideration. Hungover Kara was not normally much for thinking.

‘Definitely.’ Kara hopped to her feet ready to go.

Alex shook her head and grasped hold of Kara’s wrist.

‘You need to wash up first. The morning after isn’t a good look for you.’ Kara blushed a violent shade of red, stuttering over syllables.

‘Huh? Morning after?’

‘God, are you still drunk?  You look like you got dragged through a hedge backwards and you smell like a brewery. Try washing away some of that alcohol before you embarrass me.’

‘Oh. Right. Yes.’ Kara bashfully mumbled as she dashed out of sight.

 

In their eager excitement to head back to the saloon and extend their invitation, the Danvers sisters had not considered Sam and Lena’s usual waking hour. The Danvers sisters had not considered much at all really.

Fortunately, Sam had been half way between the kitchen and her room, cradling a mug of tea, when Alex and Kara appeared. She was still barefoot, draped in a black silk robe and hair untamed. She brought the cup to her lips and smiled around the rim, eyes twinkling in Alex’s direction.

‘Good morning,’ she said huskily. And Kara might as well not have been in the room.

‘Good morning,’ Alex all but whispered. The heat of desire burning in their locked eyes was palpable, unless your name was Kara Danvers. She noted the intense stares, she wasn’t blind just oblivious. She cleared her throat loudly and shuffled awkwardly in her boots.

‘Sorry to interrupt your morning Sam. Is Lena up?’ Sam chuckled softly at the very thought, licking her lips as her eyes flickered back to Alex. Cogs were beginning to turn in Kara’s mind, very slowly and not necessarily put in the right places.

‘I’ll see if I can’t pull her into the land of the living.’ Sam disappeared upstairs, Alex watching her swaying hips as long as she could.  Kara thumped Alex’s arm.

‘You’re crush on her is getting out of hand.’ Alex’s cheeks flared, ducking her head and scuffing the toe of her boot on the ground. She knew better than to even mutter around Kara, who always heard what she’d said. So she kept the _more than a crush_ retort inside.

Sam returned and leant over the bannister, warm mug still clasped between her hands.

‘She’ll be out in a minute. You want to come up and sit in the parlour?’ Kara was starting to feel offended by how much eye contact she wasn’t being given. She rolled her eyes at Alex sticking on the first syllable of what she assumed was meant to be _sure_.

‘We’d be glad to,’ she said with a soft shake of her head, tugging Alex along.

In the parlour, Sam threw open the curtains, burning away the Satis House atmosphere. She gestured for Kara and Alex to take a seat and folded her long legs beneath herself in an armchair.

‘I trust you both had a pleasant morning?’

‘Yes, my day got off to a perfect start,’ Alex said through a beaming smile. Their damn eyes were fixed on each other again and Kara was getting very frustrated.

‘A little worse for wear I’m afraid, keeping up with Lena might be the death of me.’ At last Sam registered Kara. She chuckled at the drunken trouble Lena had probably gotten herself into, but she couldn’t find it in herself to regret missing it.

‘We’ve certainly not found anyone who could keep up with her so far,’ she spoke as though she were holding in a big secret. Not realising that the very topic she was skirting around was the same that Kara tip toed towards.

Lena shuffled into the room on bare feet, tight black leather trousers tugged back on, loose white shirt barely doing its job. She ran fingers through tangled her and held the rim of a lowball glass in the other hand.

‘Who are we failing to keep up with?’ Lena’s voice croaked out in a low pitch that Kara had not thought to prepare herself for. The sound hit her right between the legs and she instantly hated Alex and Sam for being in the room.

‘We were admiring your constitution, my pickled friend.’ Sam’s eyes slid from Kara to Lena, before settling back on Alex. This time Kara did not notice. Lena lifted her glass to her crimson lips and Kara caught sight of the red material twisted around her wrist. Her heart burst with a concoction of joy, pride, possession and a dash of disappointment that no one else understood its meaning.

‘You think that’s impressive, my stamina is truly majestic,’ she proudly stated, an eyebrow raised in Kara’s direction. Kara sucked in a breath and bashfully adjusted her hat.

‘Alright, it’s far too early for me to be dealing with your innuendos, Luthor. What can we help you find ladies with this morning?’

As Alex seemed to be lost for words Kara straightened up and determinedly pushed aside thoughts of Lena’s stamina.

‘We wondered if you’d like to come to the construction site as a sort of celebration today.’

‘Finished already?’ Lena queried, raising her glass to her lips and pulling out a cigarette.

‘Do you have any concept of time or does the alcohol just wipe that away?’ Alex narrowed her eyes on Lena and softly shook her head.

‘Doc’s sassy this morning, something put pep in her step?’ Lena lit her cigarette and held out another for Sam who was flicking her fingers in Lena’s direction. Alex’s cheeks flashed pink, again, and Sam put on a smug grin. And Kara, who once again felt as though she was missing an entire conversation, chimed in.

‘They’re breaking ground today. Thought you might like to be there.’ Lena rubbed at her temple, cigarette squeezed between her fingers.

‘Sounds like an awful lot of noise is going to be involved. I’m afraid I must politely decline.’

Sam, whose eyes were wondering, was too busy remembering her careful mapping of Alex’s body to even think about responding to the invitation.

‘Sam and I have a poker tournament to plan anyway. It’s a very busy job being the town drunk you know.’

‘A poker tournament?’ Alex’s head snapped to Lena and her competitive nature had her eagerly shuffling to the edge of her seat.

‘That’s the plan,’ Sam said, lighting her cigarette and taking a deep drag.

‘Ooh, I want in,’ Alex could not contain her excitement.

‘No can do I’m afraid,’ Lena muttered around the butt of her cigarette. ‘Got a full table and a high buy in. And I’d feel guilty taking your money Doc. Alex sulkily sat back in her chair and folded her arms with a huff.

‘She can have my spot at the table,’ Sam blurted out.

‘What?’ Lena sounded almost offended by the idea.

‘I don’t have to play, I’m sure Al- Doc knows what she’s doing.’

‘Oh, Alex is a poker fiend,’ Kara assured them.

‘But you’ll be bored out of your mind just watching, you love taking their money.’

‘I’m sure I’ll find something else to keep my mind occupied.’ A nervous blush returned to Alex’s cheeks - at this point it should really just have stayed - and Sam gave her a smug smile. Kara eyed her suspiciously and missed the subtle wink Alex threw to Sam. ‘And I don’t need the money. So just make sure they don’t keep it and I’ll be happy.’

Lena rolled her eyes while stubbing out her cigarette and taking another swig of whisky.

‘I suppose having one of us free to help our lovely sheriff would be wise.’ Kara looked at her with confusion crinkling her brow. ‘Although it seems she has forgotten our plans for Edge.’

‘Oh. Edge. Right. I umm… I thought a bit more about that. It sort of seems like breaking the law.’

‘For the greater good,’ Lena was quick to reply.

‘But I’m a sheriff. I’m the one who is supposed to follow the law… more than everybody else.’

‘Kar, you’re also the one who was complaining to me just a few days ago about how the man was still causing trouble after you followed the law. I don’t know what your plan is, but if it stops more crime than it commits isn’t that a good thing?’

Kara sighs in assent and shrugs her shoulders. Lena curiously appraises Kara in her resistance, wonders if maybe Kara is too good to be around the Luthor name. Before she can come to any kind of decision her train of thought is derailed by Jess throwing the door open.

‘A messenger came for you Miss Arias.’ Jess stomped across the room, tutting at Lena’s drink as she passed, and handed Sam a folded piece of paper. Jess left without saying another word but gave Lena a fondly disapproving look.

Sam flicked open the message and scanned it quickly before looking over to Lena. She shifted her legs from underneath her and stretched them out like a cat bathing in the sun.

‘We’ve got work to do.’

‘How exciting,’ Lena drawled.

‘We should be heading out anyway.’ Kara stood ready to leave and had to nudge Alex’s shoulder to get her to join her.

‘Right. Yes, we have a construction site to oversee.’ Kara had to keep on nudging Alex to get her to finally leave the parlour. She turned her face back to the room, met Lena’s gaze, flicked her own eyes down to her wild rag tied around Lena’s wrist and smiled contentedly. She tipped her hat and jostled Alex some more just for good measure.

 

At the construction site Kara and Alex found that the men had already begun work on the foundations and the carpenter was carefully measuring up the wood for the framework. They seemed to have everything in hand and Kara understood why Lena and Sam expressed very little interest. It was noisy and boring. She had nothing to do except watch two men dig while three watched and a sixth measured bits of wood.

It hadn’t been her intention exactly to eavesdrop on the conversation. She hadn’t deliberately chosen to sit herself down amongst the wood piles, out of sight. It had just been somewhere to sit and vacantly stare at the horizon while she considered lunch.

‘Those damn savages are getting too bold.’

‘Think they can just take what’s ours and get away with it!’ Oh, the irony, Kara thought.

‘We ought to teach em a lesson, scare em off.’ That particular statement concerned her the most. She did not need people thinking they could dole out justice under her watch. At last she had something to do. Some investigating was in order and she knew just the man.

She told Alex she was off to do some work and toddled towards Winn’s workshop.

‘Winn!’ She excitedly waved at him.

‘Morning Sheriff.’

‘Busy today?’

‘Not especially… anything in particular you wanted to know about today?’ He put down his tools and turned to face her with a knowing smile. She bashfully bowed her head and fidgeted with her hat.

‘I’m that obvious huh?’ Winn chuckled lightly and leant back against his workbench.

‘It’s no trouble, nice to have someone listen to me for a change. Normally people talking around me while I work.’

‘Those people say much about the natives near here recently?’

Winn’s head tilted up as he realised what kind of information Kara was looking for. He allowed the question to sit between them while he chose his words carefully.

‘There’s been talk of the natives having stolen goods lately. People have been seeing them with crates of food that should have passed along the trail to Plastino or North towards Star City. And there’s been a lot more reports of highway robbery too.’ He adjusted his perch and thought for a moment longer before continuing.

‘Far as I can tell, the only honest stories I’ve heard claimed that the robberies were carried out by two white men. No sign of the natives when the robberies occur. But word is spreading like wildfire that the natives are behind it all. Some of the locals have been talking like they’re ready to band together and attack the camp.’

‘You think they’ll do it?’

‘I think they’re starting to sound like they did before Lex met mob justice. It troubles me Sheriff. I don’t know what’s the truth, but the fate Lex met never sat well with me. I don’t want to see the same mistakes made again.’ Kara sidled over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

‘You’re a good man Winn. I’ll do what I can to make sure things don’t get violent. Thank you.’

He smiled up at her, confidence in humanity a little restored. She stepped back, tipped her hat and headed toward her office. She hated the dusty stink cave, but she’d get some quiet time to think there. And she needed to think.


	16. Self-Destruct

‘So…’ Lena examined Sam closely with a smug grin on her face. ‘Happy ending?’

Sam’s toothy grin puffed her cheeks and crinkled her eyes. She put down her mug, stubbed out her cigarette and leapt to wrap Lena in a warm hug.

‘She sees me!’ Was all she could manage to say, Lena returned the hug with a fond chuckle.

‘And now I get to be obnoxiously smug. Because if you’ll recall, I did say you’d find someone.’ Sam pulled away, pursing her lips in a tight line.

‘Will this be your new thing? Will you drop quietly mysterious?’

‘Hmm, I’ll think about it.’ She wiggled her eyebrows devilishly and began to head to her room. ‘Do we need to head to the mine?’

‘We do. Gotta get a move on too. Need to be four miles East of Binder by early afternoon.’

‘Yes boss.’ Lena lazily saluted before slipping her door closed.

 

With their horses saddled and equipment collected they set off along the trail running East out of Binder.

‘The messenger bring you any details or just a location today?’

‘Three guards, including the driver. Just a simple store wagon. Be like stealing candy from a baby.’

‘Excellent,’ Lena said with exaggerated villainy. They continued on in peace until Sam worked up the courage to speak.

‘You gonna tell me about that wild rag on your wrist?’ Lena bit her lip to keep her smile under control.

‘Just a token of affection from a friend.’

‘A friend? That’s what you’re going with?’

‘Is there something else I should consider?’

‘Lena… _I’m_ your friend. There’s no lip biting or heated gazes between us. And I certainly never left you a “token of my affection” before tossing myself out your window in the morning.’

Lena couldn’t hold her full bodied laugh back as it burst from her with a snorted stutter.

‘I was wondering why the window was open.’ She grinned so brightly to herself that Sam knew she’d never seen Lena so happy. ‘We haven’t exactly had a chance to talk about it.’

‘Think you said all you needed to, walking into the parlour this morning with that on your wrist. Talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve, you sap.’ She swatted Lena’s arm and gave her an approving wink.

‘Oh, like you were any less obvious. You were practically undressing Doc with your eyes. And don’t think I didn’t notice your decision to stay in that silk robe of yours.’

‘I would have been a poor host if I’d just left them waiting while I changed.’

‘Uh huh.’ She left a telling pause of disbelief before continuing. ‘So, you and Doc… you really gonna do it?’

‘We already did it,’ Sam chuckled wickedly as Lena thumped her thigh.

‘You know what I mean.’

‘We haven’t really planned anything out. We talked a lot this morning…’ She sighed softly to herself. ‘I just like her so much. I really don’t want to mess this up.’

‘Those Danvers sisters have really done a number on us, huh?’ They both laughed with a kind of satisfied joy so unfamiliar to them.

 

At the ambush site they were quick to change into their disguises and begin setting up.

‘What do you think? Damsel in distress?’ Lena suggested

‘That would be great for only three guards but… one of us would need to be the damsel. They’ll just pass straight by an injured man.’

‘Hmm, and I suppose even the _damsel_ in distress doesn’t work so well these days. People have really over used it,’ she sighed disappointedly.

‘Damn amateurs making life harder for us.’

‘Could do the Wheel Wedge again, but we did that last time. Would be nice to vary a bit more.’

‘How about a Ride Along?’ Sam proposed.

‘Oh, now that I could get behind. Really adds to the drama, and challenge, if we’re on the move.’

Sam looked at the surroundings and huffed.

‘Not much for us to hide behind though,’ she said while considering a rework of the plan.

‘Maybe we need to make it a Ride Up and Along…’ Sam looked up at Lena with glee, plan now in place she bounced over to her and ruffled Lena’s hair, knocking her hat askew.

‘You really should think about doing more with that brain of yours.’

Lena shoved Sam away with a half-hearted scowl, combed her fingers through her hair and straightened out her hat. The pair of them saddled up again and waited patiently for sign of the wagon.

It wasn’t long before the clattering wagon was rolling along the trail, Sam and Lena approaching it steadily with faces covered. The driver looked at them nervously when they passed by and encouraged his horses to speed up with a crack of the reins. As soon as he did, Sam and Lena split, one either side of the wagon and galloping alongside.

The first man to raise his gun took one of Sam’s bullets to the knee and toppled out of the wagon. Lena drew up next to the driver and hopped onto the wagon, foot outstretched to land a blow to his face. He took it remarkably well and sprang back to reach for his weapon. Lena reacted quickly and thrust her knee into the bridge of his nose. He fell out of consciousness and Lena took the reins to slow the wagon.

Sam had her pistol pointed at the last guard who was leaning out the back, hanging to the canvas covering. He evidently saw the menacing look in her eyes and worried about his chances. He hopped off the wagon, stumbled to the ground and blacked out when the butt of Sam’s gun struck him across the temple.

Lena managed to calm the horses enough to stop the wagon while Sam trotted after Lena’s horse. Lena moved into the back of the wagon, slipped her bandana down around her neck and searched through the goods.

Sam brought both horses to the back of the wagon and poked her head over the lip to inspect their spoils too. There was a faint rustling sound, like buckles being jostled, and then a shot echoed out from the front of the wagon. Lena looked up and saw the driver mounting a horse and digging his heels in to speed away. He looked back at her and their eyes connected.

‘Shit.’ She leapt from the wagon into her saddle.

‘No, Lena. I’ll go, you’re hit.’ She glanced down to her shoulder, that suddenly began to sting, and saw red trickling from the tear in her jacket.

‘It’s just a graze. He’s seen my face, it’s safer if I go.’ She tightened her grip on the reins and galloped after the driver. ‘You make the delivery,’ she called back.

The scrublands of the west were not easy traversing for the untrained or unpractised. The driver’s horse was accustomed to pulling wagons along well-worn trails. Lena’s horse was not unfamiliar with pressing along untrodden paths. She was gaining on him and the panic on his face became clearer with every meter closed between them.

Grim determination set on her face, jaw clenched and eyes narrowed. It would have been very easy for her to simply raise her pistol and stop him from ever saying another word again. Her identity would have been protected, her problem would have been solved. Both her pistols stayed holstered at her hips.

As soon as she was within arms reach of him, she stretched out and tugged him out of his saddle. He tumbled along the ground and scrambled to his feet, heading straight toward the canyon edge and the protection a few scattered boulders provided.

Lena slid out of her saddle and charged after him, gun drawn protectively. He was stumbling around, trying to make himself a difficult target and generally making it very easy for Lena to catch up to him. Just as she reached out her fist to grab him he tripped over a loose rock and his balance wavered, too close to the edge.

Lena darted forward, gun held by her uninjured arm, and grasped the material of his coat with her free hand. He was held, rocked back on his heels, head glancing over his shoulder at the concerning drop below. He flailed his arms in a panic and put extra strain on Lena’s grip. The pain of her wound shot through her and her grip faltered. He slipped from her grasp, she could do nothing but watch his figure shrink away and land with a sickening thump against the jagged rocks below.

She stepped back, swallowing hard. The colour, what little there was, drained from her face. Minutes passed in silence, her mouth agape, on the verge of tears. The glistening water lining her eyes threatened to fall but she held it back. She straightened herself, head high, and inhaled deeply.

She mounted her horse and solemnly began a slow trot back to Binder.

It was late afternoon when she slunk off her horse and began to remove the saddle for the night. Her hands trembled while she fumbled over the straps. She took gulping breaths, still holding the dam firmly.

‘Lena!’ She jolted at the sound and hid her face from Kara’s approach. ‘I’m glad I found you, I was hoping you could help me with something.’

‘I doubt it,’ she ground out.

‘Oh, Lena, you’re bleeding.’ Kara reached a hand out to her arm and Lena twitched away from the contact. She needed to get away.

‘It’s nothing, just a graze.’

‘You should let Alex take a look at it all the same.’ Kara had obviously caught the chill in Lena’s voice because she took a step back and concern wrapped around her words.

‘I’m fine.’ It was downright icy. Kara decided not to push it any further.

‘Anyway, like I was saying, I could use your help. I might have a mob on my hands soon and I’m trying to decide how to deescalate the situation.’

‘You’re going to have to sort this one out yourself Kara.’ She heaved the saddle over its resting place and began to walk to the back door of the saloon. ‘You can’t come to me with every little problem. You’re the sheriff… do your job.’

The hurt and shock that smattered across Kara’s face was raw and undisguised. Lena steeled her eyes and sharply stared Kara down.

‘I just thought that maybe, with how you helped Alex, and you’re helping me with Edge, you were the kind of person who fought for what was right. Who did good.’

‘Well, you’re wrong. I just want reliable medical care and to kick Morgan Edge into the dirt,’ she snapped back, intent on pushing Kara away. ‘I’m a bad person who does bad things. It’s about time you learned we are on two opposite ends of the black and white scale.’

‘But we… I thought we…’ Kara stuttered, close to tears. Lena wrestled with the rag around her wrist.

‘Well you thought wrong. There is no we,’ she said with finality and threw Kara’s wild rag to the ground. Kara’s tears began to fall, Lena couldn’t bear to watch. She marched into the saloon and grabbed a bottle of whisky, ignoring Jess’ protests. She didn’t sit herself at the tables down stairs as she normally did. Choosing instead to slope off to her room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry.  
> There's the comments section and @psychopancakethethird on tumblr if you want to vent :/


	17. Grey

If she went home, Kara would have had to face Jon and Alex. She couldn’t go to the saloon. She thought about taking Krypto for a perimeter patrol, but really, she just wanted to curl up and cry. She miserably shuffled to her office, where almost nobody ever disturbed her.

She sunk into her chair with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her favourite wild rag had become an enemy and felt as though it burned to touch. She tossed it aside, not caring what happened to it. The flutter of red material attacked her peripherals and taunted her. She had had something that felt good, and right. It had slipped through her fingers before she’d even had a chance to hold on tight.

She lashed out at her desk with her boot and it screeched across the floor, splintering where her foot struck. She knew she had been drunk the night before, but not so drunk she didn’t know what she was doing. She thought they had both known what they were doing. Thought she had seen the promise of something more in Lena’s eyes.

‘I’m so stupid!’ she spluttered angrily between gulping, tearful breaths. Suddenly all her reassurances that Lena was in this with her, fell away. The heated gazes that morning were just gazes. The innuendo was just Lena’s usual flirtatious manner. Kara’s love letter of a wild rag was still wrapped around her wrist because she’d only just woken up, and then it became inconsequential, forgotten.

She rubbed harshly at her eyes, sniffling and trying to compose herself. Her growing feelings were unrequited. She had gotten the message loud and clear. She would have to wrangle them back under control the only way she knew how, push them down and ignore them while she threw herself into work. And fortunately for her, just as she had settled her breathing Winn poked his head into the office with a friendly smile.

‘Sheriff… there’s been a umm, another wagon heist.’

‘When?’ She had pulled herself together outwardly, but niceties were still beyond her.

‘Early this afternoon.’ Winn looked at her curiously, noticing the faint tear tracks on her cheeks as he got closer. Her jaw tightened as she wrestled with her inner turmoil. He seemed to understand because he continued on.

‘First I heard it was the two bandits I told you I’d heard about. But as the afternoon has gone on the story just keeps getting wilder in town. Last I heard, the wagon was taken by half a dozen natives. The guards were scalped and patterns were written across the trail in their blood. Things are getting out of hand Sheriff.’ He nervously fidgeted on the spot.

‘I can’t stop people from telling horror stories Winn.’

‘I know that… but-‘ he shook his bowed head anxiously. ‘The afternoon before they took Lex, the tales of his villainy just kept getting worse. I knew something bad was going to happen. I didn’t do anything, didn’t even try to go out and help him after, and I’ve regretted it ever since.’

‘Thank you for telling me Winn.’ It was dismissive and lacking her usual brightness. She changed her mind, she didn’t need work to push this pain down. She needed to get angry, needed to hit something. Winn needed to go. He stared at her for a few moments, trying to figure her out, like she was one of his projects. He sighed and turned away.

‘I hope I’m wrong Sheriff. Just, be ready if I’m not.’ Her fists clenched as she watched him walk away. She hated being out of control. She couldn’t control her emotions, couldn’t control the anarchy developing in Binder, couldn’t control the building rage. She wanted to scream it all out. She stomped her way to Alex instead.

Alex instantly recognised the look on Kara’s face. She took off her hat, placing it gently on a work bench. The workmen had finished for the day and had no doubt slunk off to the saloon. She tugged her poncho off too and set it next to her hat. Fists raised, she turned to Kara.

There was so much anger behind Kara’s first swing, and so little control, that Alex easily side stepped it. She staggered slightly off balance and regained her footing. Alex, nimble as ever, bounced on the balls of her feet, ready to duck and weave as needed. Kara thrust her fist straight to her chest, she easily folded Kara’s arm and deflected her weight away.

‘I know you can do better than that Kar,’ she taunted. And Kara flung one fist after the other, Alex blocking them adeptly, pushing Kara back. The pair kept going, Kara swinging violently and Alex defending easily, until Kara’s chest was heaving for breaths rather than in rage.

She sunk to the floor, panting for breath, sweat lightly speckling her forehead. Alex sat down next to her and rubbed a comforting hand along her spine.

‘You going to tell me what’s got you so worked up?’ Kara just shook her head, not ready to put words to the twisting pain in her chest.

‘You gonna eat anything this evening?’ Kara rested against Alex and shook her head again.

‘Home?’

‘Yeah,’ Kara said softly, desperately holding back tears.

Alex curled Kara under her arm and led her back to their lodgings. She quietly settled Kara into her bed and kissed her forehead before heading out to the saloon. She found Sam sat at the back, deep in thought. Sitting down next to her, she discreetly rested her hand on Sam’s thigh, under the table and out of the line of sight of any wandering eyes.

‘Hey,’ she said in an almost sigh that signified the relief Sam’s warm smile brought her.

‘Hey yourself.’ Sam for once did not have a drink in hand. She turned her full attention to Alex and opened her mouth to speak.

‘Lena’s acting wei-‘

‘Kara’s so angr-‘ They both chuckled and nudged their shoulders together.

‘Sheriff? Angry? A bit ticked off sure, but angry? I’m struggling to picture it.’ Alex smiled pleasantly but it soured as she thought about the few times she had seen Kara in the same state.

‘It’s rare,’ Alex paused, unintentionally building Sam’s anticipation of what could follow. ‘She’s lost a lot in her life. The way she picks herself up and keeps going with such a bright smile on her face… it just amazes me every day. But there have been times when she’s felt that loss acutely, the anger starts to build then.’ Sam laid her hand on top of Sam’s.

‘Something happen today?’

‘She doesn’t want to talk about just yet.’ Alex’s lips twisted in thought. ‘What’s Lena doing that’s weird?

‘Shut herself away in her room, won’t talk to me. Think I heard her crying.’

‘Anything happened that might have caused it?’

‘Not that I know of…’ Sam tilted her head back and squinted at the beams running along the ceiling. ‘But I’m starting to think maybe the something that happened to Kara, happened to Lena.’ Alex raised a brow questioningly.

‘What do you mea-‘

Alex was cut off by the shouts of a large group of patrons. The men stood up aggressively, many of them knocking their chairs over.

‘I SAY WE GO RIGHT NOW! SHOW THEM WHO’S IN CHARGE AROUND HERE!’ Cheers of agreement rippled around the room and more men began to stand. The crowd was growing as they started to form outside. Burning torches and lanterns seemed to appear as though it had all been planned.

‘I’ll get Kara,’ Alex said, rushing to her feet.

‘I’m coming with you.’

 

‘Kara! Wake up!’ Kara groaned while Alex jostled her shoulder and pulled back the sheets.

‘Sheriff! You don’t wake up this town’s gonna have another case of mob justice,’ Sam stated, clearly, knowing the words would break through Kara’s sleep haze. She was right. Kara shot up and fumbled into her clothes, fastening her holster.

The three of them charged out of the building and out into the street. They placed themselves firmly between the mob and their desired pathway out of town. When the mob kept on moving towards them, shouting at Kara to mind her own business, she fired into the air. The sound startled them and a stand-off began.

‘Violence is not how this problem is going to be solved!’ Kara’s voice was far more commanding and confident than she felt.

‘You certainly ain’t doing anything to stop those damn Indians taking from us!’

‘They haven’t taken anything from you! None of those wagons were headed for Binder!’ Alex shouted.

‘You’ve no proof of what happened. The law is not yours to dole out. Judgement is not yours to make,’ Kara was a little irritated by Alex’s outburst, but she managed to draw attention back to her words. ‘Any one of you thinks they can start wars with the natives, is gonna find themselves looking down the barrel of my gun.’

‘You can’t fight us all Sheriff. You might know how to fire that gun but it’s only got five rounds left.’ Sam had her pistol aimed at the crowd only a fraction faster than Alex.

‘Sheriff ain’t standing alone. You want to make things violent, I’ll show you why they call me the bloody hunter in these parts.’

The mob confidence began to waver and mutterings of dissent spread through the crowd. All Kara had to do was placate them.

‘I will personally head out to the camp and investigate your claims. This town is no place for mob justice while I’m in charge. Go home.’ It seemed as though a few of them had been waiting for a command and peeled away instantly. The remaining men shared glances of discontent but none were brave enough to fight.

While the men slowly returned to their homes for the night the three women stood firm.

‘I’ll get Krypto and start heading out, sooner I get this sorted the sooner things will calm down.’

‘I’m coming with you,’ Alex stated, leaving no room for question.

‘Me too.’

‘No, you stay here and make sure they don’t start trouble while we’re gone,’ Kara said shortly. Apparently the bitterness inside her felt that Sam was the enemy. Kara didn’t, couldn’t, dislike Sam. Logically she knew Sam was only trying to help. But emotionally, Sam’s presence was a reminder of Lena.

 

It wasn’t until a few hours later, well on her way toward the camp with Alex at her side, Kara realised how aggressive it might seem that she was turning up in the middle of the night. While she was pondering how to approach them without causing trouble Alex’s words caught her off guard.

‘There something between you and Lena?’

‘Nope.’ Her jaw clenched and her grip on the reins tightened.

‘So you being outrageously angry at the same time Lena is hopelessly miserable is just a coincidence?’ Alex raised a challenging brow at Kara. It took time for Kara to fully process what Alex had said. At first her anger deepened because Alex, who was normally so careful and understanding, wouldn’t leave it alone. Then her heart clenched painfully at the thought of Lena being unhappy, and not just unhappy but “hopelessly miserable”. Could Lena… She didn’t even want to finish the thought. It would be painful to let herself hope again.

‘Miserable?’ Alex’s face turned knowing, and a smile quirked to the side.

‘Hidden away in her room, crying. That kind of miserable.’ Alex would never know all the reasons Lena had shut herself away to wallow in misery. She did at least guess about a third of them. Kara’s anger began to soften, melting back into sorrow.

‘Oh.’ She dampened the building hope that her optimistic disposition seemed so ready to stoke. ‘Sam say why? I assume it was Sam that told you.’

‘It was. And she only said that Lena was refusing to talk to her. So, you want to talk to me?’

‘There’s nothing to talk about.’

‘So we’re sticking with coincidence?’

‘I just… Ugh… You’re so annoying… This is all so frustrating!’ Alex patted Kara’s shoulder gently.

‘Don’t worry about saying the right thing Kar. Just say it.’

‘I really like her.’ She threw her hands in the air, relieved to have the words spoken out loud. ‘I thought we were… not like you and Maggie were… not yet. But I thought we could be.’

‘But you don’t think that anymore?’

‘Doesn’t matter what I think. She doesn’t want that with me. I think it’s because I’m a sheriff.’

‘Kar, first of all, of course it matters what you think. And second, if she is turning you down because of your job she’s not worth your time.’ Kara let out a wet laugh.

‘Well, could you tell my heart that? Don’t seem to be listening to me at the moment.’ Alex held out her hand and Kara grasped it like a life line. The weight pushing down on her seemed to lift a little and she could breathe a little easier.

 

When they reached the camp, they raised their hands and called out loudly. Kara was relieved to find that not all of them were sleeping, some were still awake and one of them recognised her from before. He turned to speak to his tribe and they seemed to calm at his words.

‘Hello. I don’t want to cause any trouble,’ Kara said calmly, sliding off her horse, Alex at her back. The man who had recognised her carefully approached her and smiled politely.

‘Why have you come here?’ Kara brushed her hair over her shoulder, revealing the badge pinned to her chest.

‘I have to speak to you about the goods you have.’

‘Why?’

‘They’re stolen. The town I live in, Binder, the people there are angry. I don’t want to see trouble. I don’t think you stole the goods exactly. But I have to know more.’ The man smiled again and seemed to relax as he gestured for her to sit with him by the fire.

‘We did not take any of the goods you say are stolen.’

‘I thought not. How _did_ you get all the food?’

‘It has all been given to us.’

‘By who?’ He looked around the camp to his friends and family, there was a wariness amongst them.

‘We do not know the names you would give them.’

‘Please,’ Kara’s eyes looked at him imploringly, ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone. I want to help.’

‘How can you help by stopping the people you call criminals, but we call saviours?’

‘They are breaking the law, it’s my job to maintain the law,’ Kara held a surprising calm in her voice.

‘They are breaking your laws, not ours.’ She sighed and looked to Alex, hoping to find answers but satisfied with the simple reassurance of her presence. She wanted to argue and all but stomp her feet about the importance of law. However, she also wanted to help them, helping people was the whole point of her becoming a sheriff.

‘What if we gave you our word, no punishment for them. If we talk to them and they stop, we pretend we never knew they committed a crime?’ Alex’s suggestion agitated Kara instantly. She was forgiving, she was understanding, but she could never allow such injustice. The law applied to everyone.

‘Alex, we can’t just let criminals go free.’

‘Which one of us is getting ready to cause criminal damage to a rail baron’s property to keep the peace?’

‘That’s different Alex.’

‘How? Whoever these people are, they are committing a crime for the greater good. They are making a small recompense the wrongs of our people.’ Kara sighed and scuffed her boots in the dirt while fidgeting with the brim of her hat. Her lips pursed tightly in thought.

‘Alright. If they agree to stop breaking the law, I’ll look the other way regarding their prior crimes. I’ve had no real evidence they’ve ever sought violence.’

‘And what would you have us do for food without their supply? We were starving before they showed us mercy. Your people are slaughtering the herds, starving us out, taking what is not theirs.’

‘It was that bad before they helped?’ He looked at her as though she had spoken an alien language.

‘You have no understanding of how we have struggled since your people came to take our land. Our way of life has been taken from us. We can no longer live off the land, what do you expect us to eat?’ Kara let out a fluttering sigh of shame.

‘I’m sorry. I’ll find a way to fix this. But if I leave things as they are, nothing but violence lies ahead. I’ll find a way to help you, within the confines of the law. But you have to tell me who they are.’ The man stood up abruptly and disappeared into a large tepee. Kara glanced at Alex, who shrugged and patted Kara’s shoulder. They could feel wary eyes on them, gathering around the camp to observe them.

The licking flames of the fire held Kara’s gaze as she lost herself in thought. The orange life giving tendrils of heat held such possibility for destruction. The fire could nurture, bring warmth, aid in sustenance and it could take life, leave scars and destroy homes. Kara’s black and white view of the world was slipping, nothing could be truly good. Every time she picked up her gun to protect, she knew it would likely lead to harming someone. Every time Alex picked up her medical kit to save a life, she would likely have to inflict pain. Could she really consider these bandits so differently?

The man returned and gave her one last look of judgement.

‘We don’t want to cause violence. We will tell you what little we know.’

‘Thankyou.’

‘There are two of them, sometimes they come alone, sometimes together. They never told us their names, we never needed them to give thanks.’

‘Can you describe these men?’

‘Not men. Women.’ Kara’s mind flickered to the figure she had seen riding away from the camp less than two weeks before. The familiar figure that had prompted something in her mind. The figure was obviously a woman in her mind now, in a way it hadn’t been before. She waited patiently for him to continue, hoping the idea eating at the edges of her thoughts was wrong.

‘One is tall, long hair colour of the brown bear, dark soulful eyes. She has a kind smile and she always takes the time to stop and play with the children while she is here. She always has a long brown coat. I can’t tell you much more about her.’ Alex gulped nervously.

‘And the other?’ she hesitantly questioned.

‘Skin whiter than the snow on the plains of the North. She’s shorter, hair black as a crow. Always dressed in black too.’ Kara swivelled her head slowly to face Alex. Understanding passed between them and they grasped each other’s hands. ‘She has a sadder soul, you can see it in her eyes. Couldn’t say what colour her eyes are. Seems to change with the wind, one day mossy green, another day cold and blue, then the next stony grey.’ Alex and Kara’s hands clasped tighter.

‘Thank you,’ Kara croaked out. ‘We won’t hurt them.’

‘We hope you are true to your words.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can feel the beginnings of writer's block setting in :|  
> I still have a few chapters as a buffer because I basically expected it to happen. But it's all planned out and if I can just bash out the last few chapters, this time next week we'll be wrapping up the story.


	18. Misjudgement

Riding back to Binder in the dead of night and falling into her bed in the early hours of the morning left Kara far less enthusiastic about her Sunday morning than was usual. But it was in times like this, when she felt adrift in an unknown sea, that her faith had kept her going. She flopped out of bed, put on her dress and fumbled her hair into a loose plait. She grumbled the whole while, a spike of jealousy aimed at Alex who continued to enjoy her sleep.

She wouldn’t normally have worn her star to church, no law but God’s had any right in a place of worship. But she needed the confidence boost it provided if she was going to placate the people of Binder after morning service.

Fortunately, Cat’s sermon of choice focused on helping thy neighbour. Kara had come to expect rousing speeches from Miss Grant, but she found herself further inspired and entirely grateful. Cat Grant was a woman who knew the troubles of Binder and made her token effort to aid in resolving them. Kara knew the timing of this sermon was no coincidence. As soon as service was over she whipped to the front of the church, gave Cat a meaningful glance as she thanked her and called for the people to stay a moment longer.

‘I know you’re all angry about the recent attacks along the trail outside of our town. The behaviour of some of our congregation last night though was less than Christian. I can understand your concerns and fears, which is why I set out for the native camp last night.’ There was a murmur of vague approval amongst the congregation.

‘They were in possession of some of the goods reported stolen bu-‘ angry yells interrupted her and she struggled to be heard until a sharp whistle from Jon called the town to order again.

‘Sheriff was not finished.’

‘But I don’t believe they were behind any of the attacks. The men found injured or worse had been hit by bullets, the men who survived reported white men with guns. These natives had no guns. They claim to have been given the goods and I’m inclined to believe them.’

‘Then you’re a fool!’

‘That’s why being sheriff is a man’s job!’

‘Gentlemen! I’m not here to argue with you. I’m here to do my job. These attacks will stop. Give me time to resolve this as peacefully as possible. I won’t have mob justice in my town.’

‘Be quicker if we “resolved” this problem.’

‘I highly doubt it. The men in this town have a penchant for violence from what I’ve seen. Seems to me it leads to nothing but more trouble. Your mine is closed, your economy is dwindling, a man lost his arm not two days ago. You’ve had your share of violence and it’s done you no good. Let me do it my way. I’m offering to help this town, let me do it.’

Grumblings of discontent rumbled through the church but none clearly voiced their feelings. Kara set her jaw tight and paced with confidence along the aisle toward the door. Despite the interruptions and the less than whole hearted agreement, Kara felt relief creeping in. Perhaps she was capable of truly enforcing law in Binder.

* * *

Kara had spent much of the rest of her Sunday worrying about how to speak to Sam and Lena about recent revelations. She had discussed the matter with Alex at length, never quite agreeing with her completely. And now it was Monday, the day of Lena’s poker tournament.

Binder’s streets were busier than usual, the appearance of several expensive looking carriages and a number of coachmen, unimpressed by the sights of the town, put a tension in the air. The locals, reluctant to share a drinking hole with the snobs of Plastino, were out in the streets too. The tournament could not have come at a worse time, given Binder’s already restless state.

Unfortunately, it was here, and Kara had agreed to put a stop to Edge’s dubious business activities. She fidgeted in the kitchen while she waited for Alex. Something was off, something was missing. She waggled her toes in her boots, fiddled with the fringe of her chaps, smoothed out her royal blue shirt, straightened her shiny badge, patted her hat in place and reached her hand up to toy with the knot of her wild rag… her neck was bare.

The crimson fabric, usually so comforting and reassuring, lay abandoned on the floor of her office. Something inside sunk, it felt as though there was a hollow forming in her chest. And her gut twisted making her feel nauseous.

Alex had spent a great deal of time deciding what to wear, so when she walked out of their room wearing the most extravagant of her small collection of dresses, Kara had not been surprised. A vibrant red dress with a lacy design, nothing that looked out of place on Alex who normally wore what was comfortable, but just that extra effort for Sam.

‘Where’s your red wild rag?’ Alex asked, adjusting her hair carefully.

‘Oh… must have lost it,’ Kara mumbled. Alex’s face contorted into complete disbelief. Kara never took that thing off unless she was going to bed or church. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. ‘All this just for Sam?’ Kara waved her hand up and down at Alex and waggled her eyebrows. Alex’s cheeks flared with heat and she looked at the floor shyly.

‘You look great Alex, she’s going to love it.’

‘You think?’

‘I know,’ Kara confidently declared as she tugged Alex through the door.

As soon as they set foot in the saloon Sam’s arm was slung across Alex’s shoulder, seemingly unworried by what people might think. There was an easy closeness between them that most of the room simply mistook for friendship, blindly overlooking the heated gazes, neck nuzzling and near constant touching. Sam settled Alex at the table and didn’t look as though she had any intention of leaving her side. It warmed Kara, to know that perhaps Alex would have everything she deserved.

Her eyes began to examine the rest of the room and caught on Lena, heels resting up on the table and a bright red poker chip idly flicking across her knuckles while she swilled a whisky glass in her other hand. She must have noticed Kara come in because she was determinedly avoiding Kara’s gaze, instead choosing to focus on a scuff mark in the green felted table.

The hollow in Kara’s chest seemed to be growing and the sinking feeling was deepening. She felt out of place, untethered in a way she hadn’t for a very long time. She stepped to the bar and studied the business men filtering into the saloon, each with their own brand of smug arrogance. Finally, Edge sidled in and noticed Kara immediately. He was flanked by three somewhat less refined looking men, his head turned to one side and he whispered something to one of his thugs, who simply nodded and eyed Kara.

What with Lena breaking her heart and turning out to be some kind of robin hood criminal Kara really hadn’t had a lot of opportunity to talk to her about their plan to sabotage Edge. Which was only a problem if Kara was really going to go ahead and break the law, in the name of the law…

‘Ah, Binder’s lady sheriff. I think that’s the first thing I’ll change when my railway heads this way,’ he said with a confidence lent to him by the muscle he’d brought.

‘Well that makes sense. No woman would do your bidding and you’d need a puppet.’

‘Plenty of women do what I want them to, the kind of woman who knows her place.’

‘Oh, I doubt that very much. I don’t imagine there are any women that would come within sniffing distance of you Mr. Edge.’ Kara turned on her heel and darted over to mutter in Lena’s ear.

‘We need to talk.’

Lena seemed to blink out of a trance, cleared her throat and jumped to her feet. The pair of them moved to the back of the saloon and spoke in hushed tones.

‘We didn’t exactly nail down the details of our plan to deal with Edge. Is this still a good opportunity to teach him a lesson?’ Lena’s face became harsh and stony, Kara hadn’t realised that it was soft and expectant until it wasn’t.

‘Check your saddlebags, enough in there to deal with the bridge.’

‘And the gold?’

‘Don’t worry about it, it’ll get sorted,’ Lena’s syllables were harsh and Kara could almost feel them hitting her.

‘Lena…’ She reached out for Lena’s hand, but she flinched away from Kara. It hurt more than it should have. Logically Kara could see that they barely knew each other, could see that obviously she had misread the situation. But the logical part of her brain was not in control, in fact she wasn’t sure any part of her brain was in control. This was all heart. And it hurt.

She smiled weakly at Lena and sloped back to the bar for a stiff drink.

The first hands were dealt and a quiet fell in the saloon. There was an occasional ripple of smack talk but otherwise the flick of cards on felt and the clank of wooden chips were the only sounds littering the atmosphere. Sam and Alex seemed to be working in tandem but must have discussed communication beforehand because none seemed to pass between them. A different kind of knot formed in Kara’s stomach, she’d felt it before. It was a little different this time but she recognised it, jealousy.

Kara needed to air, needed to be out of the saloon, needed not to see how happy she wasn’t, needed not to see Lena’s infuriatingly perfect features, needed to be away from Edge’s detestable delusions of grandeur. She stomped out, heedless of the noise she made, and rushed to Krypto. She flipped open the saddle bag, blinked in surprise at the supply of dynamite and quickly shut it back up again.

She made a slow, steady amble towards the bridge, grumbling to herself the whole way. When she was close enough she could see that the construction site was sparsely guarded, she wondered if it might be possible to avoid detection altogether. But Kara ‘charge head first’ Danvers gave way to nature. She hitched Krypto to a nearby tree, hefted the saddle bag over her shoulder and began to quietly walk in a crouch towards the first guard.

She ducked behind a pile of timber and poked her head over the top to try and mentally map where all the guards were. After all, as soon as she fired the first shot they’d quickly be returning the favour. She could see four, hoped there weren’t anymore. She laid the saddle bag on the ground, took a deep nerve settling breath and popped out of cover, cocking her gun. Her first shot firmly planted itself in her target’s chest and he collapsed to the ground. She pulled back the hammer again and swivelled to the next target but a shot rang out behind her and splinters flew out from the wood in front of her. She ducked down and turned to see Edge’s three goons heading straight towards her.

‘Oh, shhhugar!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your words of encouragement. I'm trying to power through, my writing process involves a lot more sitting thinking than usual but eventually words are making it to the page.  
> Though maybe more sitting thinking would be good, normally all the thinking happens on the planning pages, then it's practically free-form writing from there. Which is ironic because that's normally the writing style people use to unblock and then trash their work...


	19. Exfluncticate

Hunched over the poker table, glass of whisky in one hand and cigarette clasped between two fingers of the other hand, Lena huffed frustratedly.

‘It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it Lena, but we have to play host and you don’t seem like you’re going to be putting a smile on,’ Sam said quietly, running soothing circles over one of Lena’s shoulder blades. Lena slipped her cigarette between her lips and let it sit there as she ran fingers through her hair.

‘Don’t expect that to change any time soon.’ Sam rolled her eyes behind Lena’s back but continued her soothing motions.

‘You are your damn dramatics.’ Lena shrugged Sam off and took a deep drag of her cigarette.

‘I don’t need you judging me right now Sam.’

‘You know me better than that Lena, I’ve never judged you and I don’t intend to start.’

Lena sighed heavily through her nose and a small puff of smoked shot out, giving her the appearance of a cartoonish angry bull.

‘Just leave me to wallow in peace. No one’s expecting Lena Luthor to be the happy hostess anyway.’ Sam squeezed Lena’s shoulder and stationed herself near the door, anxiously hoping to catch sight of Alex as soon as possible.

Sam pulled Alex into her orbit with an excited grin and Lena caught sight of Kara gazing at them fondly. Lena had known that Kara would make an appearance, she was after all supposed to be helping Kara out, but her presence had still come as somewhat of a shock to her system. Her eyes darted quickly away from Kara and after that she didn’t see much of anything, too deep in thought.

The hurt she had seen on Kara’s face was not something she was sure she could handle again. Hurt that she had inflicted. Her attempts to protect Kara from the darkness that surrounded the Luthor family, had only attacked her. She had been cruel and she knew it. She had felt wrong ever since, a twisting in her gut and as though she’d cut a piece of herself out. It would have been crazy to imagine that it was simply the loss of an… acquaintance… a sexual acquaintance. She determined her uneasy feelings were a result of her cruelty, for which she obviously needed to apologise.

Lena was so lost in thought that she had failed to notice Kara’s presence at her side, leaning in so that her warm breath tickled Lena’s neck.

‘We need to talk.’ A shiver ran down her spine and she blinked away her instinct reaction. She cleared her throat, perhaps a touch too loudly. In the privacy that the dark corner at the back of the saloon provided Lena fumbled for the right words to properly apologise. No doubt Kara would accept whatever she said, Kara was too good.

‘We didn’t exactly nail down the details of our plan to deal with Edge. Is this still a good opportunity to teach him a lesson?’ Suddenly Lena had to hide her emotions. Kara had obviously been less invested than she had thought, the work came first it seemed. Well, if Kara was happy to pretend nothing had happened, then so was Lena.

‘Check your saddlebags, enough in there to deal with the bridge.’

‘And the gold?’

‘Don’t worry about it, it’ll get sorted,’ she wrangled the wobble in her voice into a severe tone.

‘Lena…’ Kara said with too much pity, trying to reach out a hand a soothe away Lena’s apparently obvious pain. Lena flinched away, knowing she would more than falter at the contact. Her mossy eyes were shining with the tears she struggled to hold back, but otherwise Lena’s mask of indifference was exceptional.

Kara gave her a final pitying smile before leaving Lena again.

Lena lost herself in the poker game, filling up her thoughts with the poorly concealed bluffs and tells of her opponents. Far better to think of how to take the money from the kind of people she despised. Sam seemed to leave her to wallow in her misery, for which she is moderately grateful. She would also have secretly enjoyed having someone’s shoulder to wail on, and that someone could only ever be Sam.

When Kara slunk out of the saloon Lena couldn’t help following her movements with her eyes. As they tracked back to the table she saw Edge gesture to his men. They understood the wordless command and stomped after Kara. The twisting of her gut tensed into a hard pit. Her head whipped to Sam, who despite having her hands occupied, had also noticed the departures. They shared their own wordless conversation, which largely entailed Lena’s pleading and Sam’s disappointment at having leave Alex’s side earlier than planned.

Sam stood up, leant into Alex’s ear so that the only possibly audience could have been Lena, who was decidedly not watching. She husked a low apology and bit Alex’s ear lobe gently, slightly tugging it. Alex had a mean poker face, but the slight waver of her lip gave away her feelings briefly. Sam straightened with a sigh and confidently strode out of the saloon, already slipping a cigarette between her lips and lighting it.

Outside Sam caught sight of Edge’s trio of knuckleheads slowly trailing Kara out of town. She hopped up into her saddle as she calculated how much time she had to work with. Not much. She dug her heels into Reign’s side and charged out of Binder, heading straight for the Luthor gold mine. Sam’s comfort in the saddle made for quite an extraordinary sight. She blazed past some furtive looking townsmen, thigh muscles tensed and grasp on the reins just so. But it was all so effortless, her free hand plucked the cigarette from her mouth and she blew out a smooth cloud of smoke before replacing it between her lips.

As the mines came near she stepped out of the saddle and hit the ground running, letting Reign choose her own hitching post. She dashed into the partially collapsed entrance, pulled out her lighter and began to search for the large bag they had prepared several days ago. She dragged it through the sandy soil, heaved it up and over Reign’s back. She stubbed her cigarette out on the weathered wooden sign and launched back onto the saddle, urging Reign in the direction of Edge’s construction site.

Sam heard a shot ring out across the barren landscape and pushed Reign harder. Another shot cracked through the air and she gulped as she began to make out Kara pinned down with Edge’s men closing in on her. She had never wanted her life as a bounty hunter to cross with her life in Binder, but especially not now that she had Alex. She wanted to hold back and hope that Kara could stand her ground. She wanted to make sure that Kara never knew the destruction she was capable of, because if Kara knew then Alex would know.

But she would rather have lost Alex than have Alex lose Kara. She pulled the rifle from her back, horse still charging to the bridge, and lined up her sights carefully. Her bullet pierced through the night air and lodged itself in the skull of the first of six men she needed to topple. Kara’s head swivelled to her but Sam could not make out any expressions or signals. There were three figures on the bridge, edging carefully toward Kara but now aware of Sam’s presence too. And there were two men between Sam and Kara.

Sam swung the rifle back around her shoulders, the two men angled to fire at her. She slipped off the side of Reign, guiltily using her as a shield, one arm gripping the saddle tight as she skipped off the ground, drawing her pistol. She wasn’t quite in the position she had hoped to be but if she waited any longer she risked the men simply shooting Reign.

She rolled over Reign’s back, landing firmly on her feet and letting her horse gallop away from danger. She zig-zagged towards the men, dodging their fire nimbly. She fired her pistol and knocked another man to the ground before she fired again at the other man’s knee. He toppled under the weight of his body and she used him as a meat shield while lead rained down on her. Sam easily disarmed her shield and struck him with the butt of her pistol. As soon as there was a pause in gunfire she sprinted forward and slid on her side, into cover next to Kara.

‘Got yourself in quite a bind there, Sheriff,’ Sam gave her a wink with the tip of her hat and Kara sighed in deep relief.

‘And they say you shouldn’t meet your idols…’ she quietly muttered under her breath.

‘Only three left-’ gunfire splintered the wood by their heads and came very close to Sam’s head. ‘Son of a bitch nearly hit my hat! You’re gonna have to fire quick if you want any part in this Sheriff!’ Sam popped up, squeezed the trigger and watched the red hole of a shot well fired mark the centre of one of the men’s foreheads. She grasped for her rifle and tugged it round to fire another round straight for a still beating heart. Kara poked her head over the timbers and fired into the gut of the last remaining guard.

Sam sighed with satisfaction and emptied the spent cartridges from her weapons. Kara slowly straightened up and gazed at Sam in awe.

‘I never heard Bloody Hunter before I came to binder, always liked the name World Killer but thought it was a bit of an exaggeration,’ Kara paused in slight shock, ‘Think maybe it was spot on.’

Sam shrugged and let out a sharp whistle.

‘Well, I prefer World Killer,’ she replied as Reign trotted to her side. ‘You got the dynamite?’

‘Oh, yeah,’ she hefted the saddle bag into the air proudly. Sam waggled her eyebrows at Kara and gave her a mischievous grin.

‘Time for the real fun to begin.’

The pair of them slowly ambled around the construction site, carefully placing dynamite and trailing the fuse behind them. Occasionally Sam would toss a chunk of gold ore at random. While Kara felt that working with explosives probably required her full attention she couldn’t help remembering the grey area of the law she found herself in.

‘Those robberies that have been happening on the trail outside of Binder…’ she left a pause for Sam to confess, and because she wasn’t sure she was ready to confront the problem.

‘What about em?’

‘They’ve gotta stop.’

‘Do they?’ Kara stopped dead in her tracks and turned to Sam with an accusatory finger raised.

‘Yes, they do! You and Lena are breaking the law!’ Sam smiled casually and it made Kara’s blood simmer with barely restrained anger.

‘What do you think we’re doing right now Sheriff?’

‘This is different.’ The furrow in Kara’s brow was set deep and she clenched her fists tightly. But Sam simply leant against a nearby rock, pulling a cigarette from her pocket and lighting it coolly.

‘How so?’

‘This is a one-time thing. We’re stopping a bad guy from committing crimes.’

‘So a moral grey area?’

‘Yes!... Well, no… I don’t know it-‘

‘Sounds like a moral grey area to me.’ Sam’s relaxed demeanour was turning Kara’s simmer to a rippling boil.

‘You can’t just follow the laws that suit you and ignore the rest.’ Sam dragged heavily from her cigarette, eyeing Kara carefully and pondering how to explain something that just made sense to her. She turned her head away to blow out a small plume of smoke.

‘I spent my whole life following the law Sheriff. Spent eleven years making sure that when others didn’t follow it, they got their punishment. And that whole time I never felt the kind of satisfaction I do when I help those people, stop them from starving. I take from the greedy businessmen that make money off the poor, and I give to the people most in need,’ she paused for another drag of her cigarette.

‘I’m a bounty hunter Sheriff. Every time I go to work I know that best case scenario I’m going to have to threaten someone’s life and drag them kicking and screaming to face justice. But more often I have to kill. There’s no good in that. It’s dark and messy and it drags me down with it.’ Sam’s head bowed as she swallowed loudly.

‘Then Lena comes to me and she says “how about we do something to help those starving Indians?” and you think I’m gonna do anything but jump at the chance to do something good? I’m built to kill, I got nothing else I’m good at. You know what that feels like? To know that what you do best is destroy life? And Lena… she found a way for me to make it something good. She helped me use my skills to finally do something that wasn’t dark and messy, that helped keep my head above water.’

Kara shifted uncomfortably, clearing her throat.

‘You can preach the law all you want Sheriff, but I won’t apologise for what we’ve been doing.’

Kara was at a loss for words. She needed time to think on it. She gestured for Sam and they continued laying explosives. They worked quietly until the bridge was wired to collapse.

‘Exfluncticate,’ Kara said abruptly as they stepped back ready to light the fuse.

‘Ex what to who now?’

‘Exfluncticate, means to thoroughly destroy. Been trying to think of words this whole time, don’t know the right ones to say. But I got the right one for this.’ Kara nervously adjusted her hat and sighed in resignation.

‘Lena really started all this mess with the natives just to help you?’ Sam cocked a half smile and hummed quietly.

‘Maybe not just for me,’ Sam hesitated, there was always the possibility it had all been for her. But no, Sam knew Lena better than that. ‘I might have had a life full of messy darkness but Lena… she never had anyone hold her a show her how to love. And you expect someone like that to be cold and ruthless. She’s anything but. She’s so kind and generous, she just wants to do something truly good, show the world she _is_ good.’ Sam leant forward and lit the fuse at their feet, watching the sparking flame run along the trail rapidly.

‘She is good you know?’

‘I do,’ Kara instantly replied.

‘She just don’t trust easy. And the person she trusts the least is herself.’ The flame was still zipping along the canyon as Kara shifted her hat. Her lips twisted to the side as she chewed the inside of her cheek.

‘I’d like to be someone she can trust…’ she swallowed hard. ‘How can I show her she can trust me?’ Sam smiled gleefully, slinging an arm over Kara’s shoulders.

‘Those walls she puts around her heart…’ she tapped a finger over Kara’s chest and grinned around the word, ‘exfluncticate!’

A series of roaring explosions coursed through the canyon and forced up across the landscape, the resulting echo rumbled through them. Wood splintered, rock fractured, the ground shook. Kara and Lena shielded their faces from the spirals of sand and earth slinking their way over them. The bridge creaked and shook before folding in on itself and shattering at the base of the dry canyon. Sam sent a few more chunks of gold ore sailing towards the demolition, for good measure.

After the dust settled, Kara slunk back to her lodgings above Jon’s store, knowing she couldn’t see Lena yet without her insides feeling as though they were tearing themselves up. Sam however, was still keen to celebrate.

As she confidently strode into the saloon she noted that Edge and half the table had left already. Her smile was immoveable when she took in the sight of Alex sitting smugly with a third of the chips in play piled in front of her. She crashed back into her chair by Alex’s side and wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist.

‘That’s my girl,’ she husked across the shell of Alex’s ear, inciting a shiver. Lena raised a meaningful brow at her and she sunk in on herself minutely, realising that her behaviour had been rather overt.

‘You gentlemen beat out Morgan Edge already?’ she said innocently.

‘Pompous ass left in a terrible rage after some loud explosions. Said he had urgent business when his coachman slunk in, but I think he was just embarrassed by how badly he was losing to two women,’ one of the men grumbled around a cigar.

Sam watched the rest of the tournament play out with her hand rested comfortably on the small of Alex’s back, covered by her poncho. Tenderly running her fingertips in circles absentmindedly, she felt a lightness in her chest that she wasn’t sure she had ever experienced.

By the time the remaining Plastino businessmen had left in a huff, leaving Alex facing off against Lena, Sam was itching to run her hands over bare skin. She hadn’t even seen Alex’s cards when she had leant over to whisper in her ear.

‘Just go all in.’ The slight scrunch of Alex’s face asked her why, and she continued breathily, ‘if your hand is weak… you can use mine.’ Alex’s lips twitched, there was an accompanying twitch between her legs too. Without even glancing at Sam she shoved her stacks of chips into the centre of the table and stared impassively at Lena. Turning the corners of her cards up towards her, Lena glanced down and then across to the flop. She pushed her chips in too.

‘I wonder where this sudden boldness has come from…’ Lena drawled. She flicked the turn and the river onto the table and smiled smugly. She turned over her cards and let them slide onto the table.

‘Two pair,’ she said with a hint of challenge. Alex checked her cards, snorted a giggle and threw them face down to the centre of the table.

‘Absolutely nothing.’ She stood up and tugged on Sam’s hand until she was almost chasing her up the stairs.

Lena sighed and poured herself a drink.


	20. Disbelief

Two days after the Binder poker tournament had been interrupted by the echoing sounds of rail expansion crashing through the cracks in the earth, Kara dozed in her office. Which is very different from sleeping. Dozing allowed her some semblance of control over her dreams. She was having a lovely time walking down Binder main street, hand in hand with Lena, when the screech of wooden chair legs across the floor startled her upright.

‘Miss Grant,’ she nervously fidgeted with her hat, ‘how can I help you today?’ Cat dropped gracefully into the chair and a half smile graced her face for a fraction of a second.

‘I believe I misjudged you Sheriff.’

‘Well-‘ Kara hesitated over a gulp, ‘I umm.. It happens a lot actually.’

‘I’m sure it does,’ Cat smiled knowingly at Kara, which had the effect of being rather unnerving. ‘I must say I was delighted when I heard what happened to Edge’s latest expansion. I thought perhaps I’d be allowed a few weeks reprieve from his tiresome behaviour.’

Kara worried her lip, not wanting to admit to having carried out malicious destruction of property, but confident that Cat had already connected the dots.

‘But I severely misjudged your intellect Sheriff Danvers,’ she left another pause, presumably to make Kara squirm, trying to figure out which way the conversation would go. ‘I thought you’d be another bumbling fool in a long legacy of terrible law enforcement. But that little trick of yours with the gold… Well I apologise for ever thinking so lowly of you.’

Something in Kara wanted to jump up and down cheering that _it was all Lena! She’s so smart! She’s a good genius! The opposite of an evil genius._ Fortunately, whatever that something was, she could wrangle it into submission and she remained calmly reclined in her chair. And an even smarter part of her thought it best to keep Lena’s name as far away from implication as possible.

‘Word sure does spread fast around this town. I’ve not even been given an official report myself yet, though I suppose Edge might never see fit to report this terrible accident.’

‘Well, two days is hardly fast spreading news and everyone in Binder heard the explosions. Besides, I got a visit from the man himself yesterday,’ Cat smiled fondly as she thought of Edge’s ill placed confidence. ‘I had a very hard time not giving your little game away when he smugly retracted his offer on my land thinking he’d struck gold.’ Kara beamed with pride, Cat may have seen it simply as a pride in her own work, but in truth it was far more than that. She was proud she had hopefully put an end to the matter, proud that Sam had been able to do more good, proud of Lena’s machinations, proud that just maybe she was getting a handle on Binder.

Which was rather foolish. Often, just as you think you’re getting a handle on something, it slips away.

‘I’m glad the situation has been resolved for you Miss Grant,’ Kara said, avoiding any admissions of guilt on her part.

‘Truth be told, I was only hanging onto the land to block Edge’s business. This is by far my least profitable ranch and I’m rather tired of Binder,’ she said, looking wistfully out the window behind Kara’s head. ‘I need a new challenge.’

‘Edge wasn’t challenge enough for you?’

‘Good heavens no, Edge was an insignificant flea that occasionally caused some irritation. But he was no more a challenge to me than he was to Lena Luthor…’ she allowed the words to linger, studying Kara’s reaction. Kara wasn’t sure how to react, wasn’t sure if Cat was referring to Lena’s legal battle over the saloon, or Lena’s involvement in Binder’s latest news story. She stuttered and flushed, not knowing how to even pretend to respond appropriately. Cat smiled and it just made things worse for Kara, the devious glint in her eye was dangerous.

‘W-what kind… of ch-challenge you after?’

‘I’m not sure yet. That’s part of the fun, don’t you think?’ Moving away from Lena as topic of conversation eased Kara’s nerves, thankfully.

‘I like a little more certainty in my life.’

‘Yes, I had guessed that about you. You’ve the look of someone in search of a home.’

‘Would be nice to feel like I belonged.’

‘Sheriff, where do you live?’

The abrupt question caught Kara completely off guard and it showed on her face.

‘I don’t really care, I just wondered if you had found permanent residence yet,’ Cat added at the sight of Kara’s startled face.

‘Oh,’ Kara’s brow still displayed her confusion. ‘Got lodgings… with Jon Johns. He’s a good man, think he’d let us stay as long as we needed.’

‘Good,’ Cat nodded once, firmly. And Kara thought that had been the end of the strange topic change. ‘Then you don’t have anything stopping you accepting my offer.’

‘Your offer?’

‘I’m leaving Binder. Need someone to take over the ranch. Don’t really care how you run it, just don’t sell it to Edge.’ Kara blinked and craned her neck to look at Cat more curiously.

‘Are you… asking me to run the ranch?’

‘No,’ she replied resolutely. ‘I’m giving you the ranch, I would expect someone in your position would find somebody else to run the ranch.’ Kara again carefully studied Cat before answering.

‘You’re _giving_ me a ranch?’

‘Yes. Should close that mouth before you catch flies in it.’

‘You’re just _giving_ it to me… no strings attached?’

‘One string. Like I said, keep my land out of Edge’s hands.’

‘But… why me?’

‘Why not you? You’ve already shown what’s important to you, shown me money is nothing more than paper to you.’

‘I…’

‘Yes, yes. I’m sure you can’t believe it.’ Cat stood up and stretched out her hand to Kara. ‘Just shake my hand and say thank you Sheriff.’

Kara did just that.

 

 

Excitedly skidding to a halt in front of where Alex was corralling the workmen, Kara gripped Alex’s shoulders firmly.

‘You’re not going to believe this!’ Kara had been somewhat sullen over the preceding four days and Alex was relieved to see some of her sparkle return.

‘Won’t know til you tell me.’

‘I’ve got us a house!’ She jostled Alex’s shoulders lightly. ‘Not just a house either. A ranch. The ranch. Cat Grant’s ranch!’ Alex shrugged Kara off and stepped back to look at her in complete disbelief.

‘Well, you were right. I don’t believe it.’ Kara bounced gleefully and gestured wildly as she explained Cat’s sole instruction with regard to the land.

‘She’s just _giving_ it to us?’

‘Yep!’

‘What is with this town and just giving us property?’ Alex’s head shook softly with wide eyes trying to find some sense in it all. Kara was practically vibrating with excitement, fists clenched by her sides.

‘I have no idea. But I’m not about to question it too hard,’ she said, adjusting her hat. Alex leant back against a nearby workbench and breathed out a shaky sigh.

‘A ranch?’

‘Didn’t we cover that bit already?’ Alex flicked out her hand in Kara’s direction and barely missed grazing her as Kara jumped away.

‘What do we know about running a ranch? It’s just crazy.’

‘Oh, she said she thought I’d hire someone to run it.’

‘… Know a lot of experienced ranchers, do you?’ Kara opened her mouth to reply but realised very quickly that she had no response. She scratched at the nape of her neck and kicked at the loose soil. Alex’s arms folded tightly across her chest as she considered all the extra work they had just been handed as a “gift”. Some gift.

‘Maybe we could put an ad in a newspaper for someone,’ Kara suggested optimistically.

‘You wanna hire a stranger to work in our house?’ Kara cleared her throat and lightly shook her head.

‘Hmm, maybe not. Don’t know anyone that could do it though,’ she said glumly.

Suddenly, a single sentence ran through Alex’s mind. It sprang from nowhere and even she was surprised she remembered it so clearly after so much time had passed. _I’d put her in charge of the mines if the idea of opening them again wasn’t so repulsive._ Granted, Lena was probably somewhat biased when it came to Sam. But the thought was there, Sam was certainly good at dealing with problems, she never got flustered in stressful situations and well, Alex knew she was good with her hands…

She swallowed the idea down because she would need some time to prepare herself for the conversation with Kara that would undoubtedly follow.

‘What about Sam?’ She was sure she had swallowed the suggestion down, except the words had spilled from her mouth and Kara was looking up at her pensively. Kara was looking pensive, which was new, and it made Alex’s stomach tumble harder. Alex held her breath as Kara’s lips twisted around in thought.

‘Well… I trust her, might get her to stop robbing trade wagons too,’ Kara said matter-of-factly. Alex blew out the breath in a long sigh, poorly disguised as a yawn. ‘And I get the feeling she don’t much like being a bounty hunter. Maybe she’d like being a rancher.’

Alex bit her lip to keep the smile spreading. She had no idea how Kara was capable of being so perceptive about people’s character while being so oblivious about people’s interactions, namely Lena’s interactions with Kara and Sam’s interactions with Alex.

Alex and Sam had woken in each other’s arms five days ago, and since then they’d taken every opportunity to see each other. They had fitted together so comfortably that she had barely worried about what other people might have thought about their perhaps too intimate behaviour in public. Having somewhere outside of town for them to be together was the kind of unexpected miracle that made her reconsider the church. And to be able to offer Sam a chance to do something that didn’t chip away at her soul, didn’t just have Alex’s heart warming, it was outright blazing.

‘So… I should ask her?’ Alex’s fingers dug hard into her own biceps, holding her excited buzz in place.

‘Oh, I see…’ Kara looked at Alex with a glint in her eye, she shifted nervously under the gaze. ‘You’re hoping to score points with your crush.’ Alex’s eyes widened as she wrangled a laugh under control.

‘You got me, Kara… Sam’s my crush and now I’m giving her control of our biggest windfall because I’m a complete idiot,’ she said drily. Kara grinned knowingly at her, though what Kara knew was not as much as she had thought.

‘Want me to come when you ask? Give it an air of professionalism,’ Kara flicked her silver star proudly.

‘Uhhh…’ Alex was glad she hadn’t simply shouted _no_ , but struggled to find a way to tell Kara she was hoping for the privacy to jump Sam’s bones, without actually telling Kara the truth. ‘I think it’ll be fine if it’s just me… besides, she’ll be at the saloon.’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Kara sighed. Alex patted her on the shoulder gently, letting her hand rest there for a while.

‘Good job you’re not much of a drinker,’ Alex muttered, not knowing what to say and Kara huffed out a laugh. Alex wrapped Kara up in a hug and squeezed tight. It was strange for Kara, Alex’s hugs had always been the most comforting thing in her life. But she wanted to push her arms away, wanted to push Alex away. It was a feeling she ignored but it intruded from the corners of her mind. 

‘You’ve got the job and the house. The girl… or guy, can come later. You don’t have to rush.’ Kara pulled away and nodded with a sigh. She shuffled her hat in place.

‘Guess you should go and see if Sam even wants the job.’

Alex held her dignity in place, stopping herself from running to the saloon. But it should be noted that she had never walked that short a distance quite so quickly before. She found Jess unashamedly flirting with the delivery boy from Metropolis outside the saloon and waved at her with a smirk.

‘Sam around?’

‘This time of the morning? I should think she’s still asleep,’ Jess scoffed. ‘Head on up, don’t think she’ll mind.’ Alex tipped her hat and skipped into the bar and up the stairs.

She planted her feet firmly outside Sam’s bedroom door, took a shaky breath and raised her fist to knock. She hesitated. They’d been getting on like a house on fire, but this was a lot and it was fast. Or at least it seemed like it should feel fast. Alex wasn’t sure, it just felt right. Her knuckles rapped against the door, rattling the loose hinges slightly.

There was a faint shuffling of sheets, soft thudding of footsteps and some grumbled words tumbled through the door.

‘This better be important, Jess.’ The door creaked open and Sam’s bleary eyes instantly sparked to life. ‘Good morning beautiful,’ her voice was low and sultry as she leant against the door languorously.

‘Hi,’ Alex choked out, gaping at Sam, barely covered by her black silk robe. Sam tugged Alex’s wrist, pulling her into the room before pushing her up against the door. She claimed Alex’s mouth in a deep kiss, Alex slipping her hands beneath the lapels of the robe and running her hands along smooth planes of skin towards collarbones.

Alex’s pleased hum against Sam’s lips prompted a pause. Leaning their foreheads together Sam’s words sent warm air rippling across Alex’s skin.

‘I could definitely enjoy waking up to that every morning.’ Alex’s bright smile shone through her eyes.

‘That’s good,’ she paused to slip from Sam’s warmth and settle on the edge of the bed, ‘cause I was thinking maybe you and I could live on a ranch together.’ Sam delighted at the chase and swayed over to Alex. She calmly gripped Alex’s hat and hung it on the bed post while Alex kicked off her boots. ‘That’ll never stay there…’ her eyes motioned towards her hat.

‘Hmm, possibly not, only one way to find out,’ she smirked as she leant in for another kiss. ‘Tell me more about this ranch.’ She pulled back far enough to pull Alex’s poncho over her head.

‘Was thinking you could give up bounty hunting, run the ranch.’ Sam straddled Alex’s lap, gently unbuttoning her shirt and laying fluttering kisses along Alex’s jaw.

‘Want to see me working hard while you recline, do you?’ She gently tugged on Alex’s ear lobe with her teeth and shuffled her shirt off before pushing her back against the mattress. Alex ran her hands under silky material and across Sam’s back, letting her nails scrape faint red marks as Sam sucked at her neck. Alex let out a satisfied groan but managed to string together some words.

‘And it’s outside of town… Oh… so we wouldn’t get disturbed.’ She slipped the black robe down Sam’s arms and let it drop to the floor, leaving Sam completely bare. Another satisfied groan rumbled in her throat.

‘And just what kinds of things would we be doing on this undisturbed ranch?’ In lieu of words Alex firmly planted her hands around Sam’s thighs and pulled them closer until they rested either side of her head. She gave her a wicked grin and a look that said _watch this_ before working her tongue through Sam’s slick folds.

Sam moaned loudly and clapped a hand over her mouth, wary of Lena and Jess in the building. But Alex relished the sound and focused her ministrations, building a firm rhythm as she watched Sam’s stomach muscles ripple and tense. Sam’s free hand dropped back and propped her up as her back arched in pleasure, cries still muffled by her palm.

Alex’s fingers gripped tense thighs tightly, leaving faint red marks to appreciate later. Her tongue paused in it’s dedicated movements to run over Sam’s opening, sending a shivering jolt through her. And then she was back, working the rhythm until Sam was a shuddering mess above her, eyes scrunched shut, stifling her moans much to Alex’s chagrin.

Sam’s lungs heaved for oxygen, a light sweat glistening across her chest. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed down at Alex, lapping at the arousal coating her thighs. She ran her fingers tenderly through Alex’s hair and slowly moved back to rest on Alex’s stomach.

‘It sounds perfect,’ she said in hushed tones.

‘You sound perfect,’ Alex giggled. Sam leant down to kiss the laughter away and tasted herself on Alex’s lips and tongue. When they broke apart Sam had a hand resting either side of Alex’s head, still straddling her, and she gazed into rich, loving eyes.

‘Is all this planning for the future your way of asking me to make this a serious relationship?’ Sam couldn’t seem to find a volume above a whisper. Alex’s broad grin almost prevented her from responding.

‘Well, actually it was my way of asking you to run our ranch. But I’ll take the serious relationship option if it’s available.’ Sam’s elbows straightened and stiffened as she studied Alex’s face with searching eyes.

‘Wait,’ she swallowed, ‘you weren’t just talking hypothetically?’ Alex chuckled softly.

‘No, Grant ranch is gonna be a Danvers ranch.’ She reached up a tender hand and caressed Sam’s cheek.

‘You want me to run it?’ Alex slowly but confidently nodded. ‘And Kara?’

‘Agrees…  I mean she doesn’t know everything yet. But she’s happy for you to run t-.’ Sam lowered herself to plant an emotion filled kiss on Alex’s still moving lips. Without breaking the kiss Sam muttered huskily.

‘Your trousers… off.’ Alex struggled to shuffle the rest of her clothes off while Sam caressed slow, deliberate circles with her tongue around the edge of Alex’s nipple.

‘God… You- You’re not making this… easy,’ Alex groaned, arching her back and pushing up into Sam’s touch with her legs wriggling free of her trousers. Sam’s eyes flicked up to Alex’s and she grinned with a wink before running her tongue down Alex’s stomach, stopping just shy of where she was most wanted.

Alex widened her legs, driven by instinct and need. Sam’s tongue laved along her soaked core and teased at her opening.

‘Oh… Sam!’ She looked up at Alex’s wanting body and pushed her hand along the sheets to meet hers. Their fingers knotted together as Alex arched upwards, seeking the mouth that was just out of reach.

‘Save that noise for when it’s just you and me on that ranch, angel.’ Alex swallowed thickly and nodded. Sam kissed lightly, too lightly, right where Alex wanted firm pressure, inciting a roll of Alex’s hips. She plunged her tongue inside and started an undulating movement that pulsed into Alex so that she was biting her lip to muffle her moans of pleasure.

With one hand grasping sheets, the other tightly tangled with Sam’s and her thighs clamped around Sam’s head Alex came hard. Pleasure shooting through her, arching her back higher and teeth almost drawing blood as she bit back a scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Supercorp are idiots... but at least AgentReign have got their shit together?


	21. Expression

Cat Grant was not the kind of woman who wasted time. She had packed up the few items important to her and departed for parts anew in less than a week, leaving the grand house partly furnished for its new inhabitants. And the Danvers sisters had wasted even less time making themselves at home.

Alex, who had noted how thoroughly mopey Kara was being, prepared herself for new ground in their sisterly conversations. She had kept everything to herself when it had come to Maggie. This time would be different though. This time she was not only already more open with Kara, but she felt that she couldn’t keep her happiness to herself. The trouble was there didn’t seem to be a way to approach the subject without rubbing salt in Kara’s wounds.

She prepared fastidiously though, getting up early to make pancakes and hot cocoa. Not Alex’s preferred breakfast combination but something she hoped would comfort Kara.

‘Morning,’ Kara groggily said as she blearily looked around the kitchen.

‘Good morning!’ Alex mentally rolled her eyes at herself and squashed down her excitement. Kara yawned wide and stretched her arms high above her head. ‘I made your favourite.’

‘What did you do?’ Kara rubbed her eyes and looked at Alex with suspicion. Alex narrowed her eyes and scrunched her lips in offence.

‘Remind me not to do nice things for you,’ she muttered, plopping down into her seat at the table.

‘You’re underestimating me if you think I believe for one second all this-’ Kara gestured to the stacks of pancakes, ‘-is out of the goodness of your heart. You’re up to something. I just don’t know what.’ She shuffled to sit across from Alex and merrily began digging into her breakfast regardless of what it was for.

‘So, we can’t just enjoy breakfast and conversation anymore?’ Kara stopped her overloaded fork half way to her mouth.

‘And just what would this conversation be about?’ Alex’s words caught in her throat. She wondered how this overly suspicious, squinting detective was the same person as her emotionally oblivious ball of sunshine sister.

‘I guess we’re just going to be ripping the bandage off today,’ she grumbled and Kara shovelled pancake into her smug mouth. ‘Sam and I are a thing.’

‘A thing?’ she questioned, cheeks bulging with food shoved to the side.

‘What was that word you used before? Umm… partner! She’s my partner.’ Kara swallowed before she’d even finished chewing and she felt the discomfort of the lump running down her oesophagus. She clasped a hand over her sternum and the pain was obvious on her face.

‘Shit, see this is why I wanted to ease you into it,’ Alex worriedly said as she jumped to reassure Kara, who began to laugh.

‘It’s fine Alex, I just swallowed too hard. I’m happy for you. Didn’t think you had it in you to bag your crush but…’ Alex swatted Kara’s arm and returned to her chair.

‘Thanks a lot, jackass.’ Kara really was happy for Alex but that didn’t stop the jealousy spiking in her chest as a wave of realisation crashed over her. Alex was getting the job, the house _and_ the girl. Kara… two out of three ain’t bad right?

‘Wait… how long has this been going on?’ Alex’s self-satisfied smile gave away her internal mockery of Kara. ‘Before you even asked her to run the ranch?’ At that Alex could no longer contain the laughter.

‘Yeah, before that.’ Kara huffed and dug back into her breakfast.

‘So, I _was_ right about you hiring her because you like her!’ Kara griped around a mouthful of food.

‘Give me some credit Kar.’

‘I am. I’m giving you credit for being a sneaky … sneaky person.’

‘Really bringing out the big guns today,’ Alex said with a smirk. Kara clanked her cutlery against her empty plate and sat back with her arms folded across her chest. She watched the gentle smile curving Alex’s lips and saw the glimmer of excitement in her eyes. At the sound of the front door creaking open the glimmer turned into an intense flame. Sam tentatively stepped into the kitchen, eyeing Kara warily.

‘It’s alright Sam, she told me.’ Sam’s tense shoulders relaxed and she moved to sit at Alex’s side, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Jealousy was twisting at Kara’s insides and she needed to get out and breathe in fresh air. ‘I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it,’ she rose from her seat but paused her movements abruptly. ‘And I don’t mean that as an invitation for you to use the kitchen as a bedroom. Keep it to your room.’ She hustled out before the conversation could get more awkward.

Kara sullenly kicked her feet along the trail back into Binder, not really having any particular destination in mind. She had thought over all the troubling matters of her heart. They had spun around undermining each other and leading to nothing Kara could usefully grasp hold of. She barely knew Lena really, but she desperately wanted to. Lena was a criminal and she was a sheriff, but no matter how hard she felt she should, she didn’t care. Lena had been cold and hurtful, but Kara knew underneath Lena was warm and kind. Everything span back to how misunderstood Lena was, to what a beautiful but vulnerable person she was underneath the disaffected exterior. It all led to Lena.

It was torturous for Kara to look up from her tumbling thoughts and realise she had stopped her footsteps in front of the saloon. She quickly shuffled into her office and saw the red scrap of material flutter in the gust caused by the opening door. She turned on her heel and panicked for freedom from all things Lena.

‘Sheriff!’ Winn’s voice called out to her from his workshop and she breathed a deep sigh of relief, this she could deal with.

‘Morning Winn,’ she said cheerfully with a wave as she approached him.

‘Just wanted to thank you for stopping that business with the Indians. Whatever you did, the robberies have stopped and everybody seems to be settling down.’ Kara leisurely paced around Winn’s workshop and gave him a half-hearted smile.

‘Still working to fully settle it but I’m glad Binder is calming down.’ He absently tinkered with some miniscule cogs while Kara’s gaze flickered around. She noticed a newspaper lying on the bench and recognised the face staring back at her.

‘Hey, that’s me.’ Winn looked up and his face brightened.

‘Oh, yeah. I meant to tell you about that. A trader passing through from Plastino left it behind and I thought you might like to see it.’ Kara picked up the paper and studied her expression. She looked menacing which was not something she was sure she had been called before. Thinking back, she remembered what had set the frown on her face. Her intense gaze caught Winn’s attention.

‘I read the article, so I know why they put your picture in there, but how’d they get your picture?’

‘Oh,’ she waved a hand over her shoulder, still slightly lost in thought, ‘some fella found me after and asked if he could take my picture. Nothing very exciting.’

‘Some fella? Sheriff, the paper says it was James Olsen. He’s a big deal.’ Kara turned to face him with a smile.

‘Seemed nice, offered to buy me a drink after.’ She was still thinking about how he had judged Lena, how she had flinched away from his mistrust.

‘Sheriff, you telling me you could have something going with James Olsen?’ That had definitely not been the impression she had intended to give, embarrassment pinked her cheeks slightly.

‘No! No, I didn’t even accept his offer.’ Winn spotted the rosy look to her face, added one and one, and made three.

‘But you wanted to… you liked him.’ The slightly horrified look on Kara’s face, in retrospect, had been a touch exaggerated. But Kara didn’t need rumours flying around town and Winn _was_ the town gossip.

‘Absolutely not. Truth be told, I took rather a disliking to him. See, I don’t make that grumpy face at just anyone,’ she pointed enthusiastically at her picture. Winn let out a small sigh of disappointment and sunk back onto his stool.

‘Shame, that would have made for a great story. What did he do to earn your ire?’ Kara twisted her lips to the side and adjusted her hat as she wondered just how honest she could be with Binder’s gossip monger.

‘Just little things he said.’ Winn perked up at the vagueness of Kara’s answer.

‘Such as…’

‘I don’t know… just undermined me a subtly for being a woman… and,’ she hesitated enough to give away which of her reasons was more important, ‘seemed like he thought Lena was a bad person just because her family were.’ Winn rolled his eyes, rested his head in his palm and muttered to himself.

‘What is it with the women and this town?’

‘Huh?’

‘Oh, uh, him and just about everybody else in town…’ he nervously waited for her to accept his altered statement.

‘Yeah, and that really ticks me off. Why does everybody do that?’ Kara’s venting had begun. ‘She’s a good person. Lena’s had such a lot of horrible things happen to her and what? That makes her bad? She deserves more dammit.’ Winn’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘So… you uh, you _really_ like her, huh?’ he said in a soft voice, leaning in conspiratorially. Kara choked a little and spluttered through a cough.

‘I’m not sure I know what you mean.’

‘No, of course you don’t,’ he said dubiously and gave her a wink.

‘I don’t. I was just saying that I think Lena is a kind person, who doesn’t deserve to be considered just another Luthor.’ Winn gave her an exaggerated nod with a wide grin.

‘Oh, absolutely,’ he paused because Kara’s face was starting to resemble the photo. ‘Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but before you and your sister showed up in town Lena was my favourite person in Binder. It’s strange, everyone here puts up a front and pretends to be a whole lot different than the person they are. And they all like each other for it. Lena is a straight shooter, what you see is what you get, there’s no façade with her. And they hate her.’

‘I’m glad somebody gets it,’ Kara threw her hands in the air. ‘Just wish she would talk to me,’ she said quietly, hands fiddling with a pair of pliers.

‘I noticed she hasn’t been around so much lately, that your doing Sheriff?’ Kara wasn’t sure what to make of the question and cocked her head, shifting her hat slightly. Winn hadn’t really thought about the number of ways it could be taken. ‘I mean, is she hiding from you for some reason?’

‘Oh…’ Kara’s gaze settled in the distance and she sighed. ‘I suppose so. I’m not sure what I did wrong though.’

‘Might not have done anything.’ Kara’s focus snapped to Winn.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Someone spends their whole life being hated and betrayed, they might tend to push people away before they can get hurt again.’

‘Oh,’ Kara let out a stuttering breath, a sudden wave of sadness crashing into her and she had to fight to keep her eyes from watering. ‘How do I get her to stop pushing me away?’

‘Push back,’ he said it so quickly and confidently that Kara couldn’t even doubt it. ‘Push her defences down.’ Kara reached up and fiddled with the brim of her hat.

‘Huh… that’s what Sam said.’

‘Then you should probably get to pushing,’ he smiled at her encouragingly and Kara’s muscles twitched as though she should move.

‘Right now?’

‘Well, not _right_ now. I have a present for you.’ He jumped to his feet and pulled a large wooden box from under a workbench. He cracked it open and light reflected off the smooth surface, drawing Kara in.

‘Wow. Are you sure?’ He nodded enthusiastically.

‘Yep.’

‘Thank you.’ Winn closed the box and handed it to her, neatly placing the newspaper on top.

‘No, thank you. Binder is nicer with you around,’ he paused to give her a reassuring smile, ‘ _now_ you should go push.’ Kara started to leave but paused.

‘I’m not sure how,’ she disappointedly muttered.

‘Finding the right words to tell her you’re sticking around is a good start I think.’ Kara nodded and strode away, head bowed in thought. When it came to finding the right words Kara was normally very confident. But on more than one occasion she had found herself struggling to string sentences together around Lena, and if she could they were never quite as eloquent as she would have liked.

She had marched over to her office, thumped the box on her desk and flopped into her chair before she determined her best course of action.

_Dear Lena,_

_I’m sorry I let you push me away. I let you down, I should have fought for you. You are so utterly deserving of someone who will fight for you that I ashamed to have fallen at the first blow. I saw your walls come up and I stood there helping to build them higher. I understand if you would like us to return to being friendly rivals, I shall tip my hat to you and smile as we pass by each other in the street. I shall try to maintain law in your saloon even though I know you’re in control, just to rile you up because a rival wouldn’t concede that ground. I shall ask you for help only when a little law breaking is required._

_But my heart will ache at the sight of you. My thoughts will drift to you when you are not around. And I will always wonder what could have been if I had been stronger. It is my sincerest hope that you will grant me a second chance, because for me I think it might always be you._

_When I can’t sleep at night, it’s you who is on my mind. When I picture my future, it’s you who is stood by my side. When I want to share something of myself, it’s you who I look for. And when I don’t want to be around anybody, it’s you I want to hold me. It’s you._

_I would spend the rest of my life proving how deeply you speak to my soul, how warmly you wrap around my heart and how much I long for your smile. I would dedicate myself to learning everything there is to know about you. All I ask is that you let me._

_With all the hope in my heart,_

_K_

_P.S. I have enclosed a picture of the face I make when people say awful things about you. It’s not much but I intend to make it in your defence as long as you’ll let me._

She had scratched lines through the words that didn’t feel right, corrected her spelling errors, rewritten it in several different tones and settled on a final draft. It still wasn’t everything she had wanted, it still didn’t seem to say everything she felt. But they were the words she had, and she couldn’t wait any longer to deliver it.

She carefully and precisely tore her picture out of the newspaper, folded it into the letter and tapped the paper on her desk thoughtfully. She got up, stomped over to her wild rag and picked it up with the look of someone who was particularly proud of an idea they had had.

She delicately folded the rag as best she could into a ribbon shape and began to tie it around the letter, finishing it with a bow.

She had spent longer than she had realised working on the letter. By the time she emerged from her office the sky was set ablaze with a deep orange. The saloon looked busy enough that Kara paused outside for some time, pondering her next move. She paced around the side of the building, placed the letter between her teeth and began to climb.

At Lena’s window she peered in and felt a combination of relief and disappointment when it seemed Lena was not in her room. She slowly slid the window open and carefully flicked the letter onto Lena’s bed. Kara gave herself a satisfied little nod and let herself fall back to the ground before trudging home to wait.


	22. Lillian's Favour

Lena had hit the bottle particularly hard since her last heist. She had told herself she was drinking to forget the sight of the shrinking figure thudding on the bottom of the canyon. But no more than a few drinks in he was rarely on her mind any longer.

She awoke tangled in her sheets, Sam had obviously stopped her from wandering. The bright sunshine filtering in through the thin material was offending her sensitive eyes so she rolled her face into her pillow. A strange crumpling sound caught her notice and she spread her hands through the sheets, trying to find the source. The maze of tangled sheets provided an infuriating obstacle to her curiosity. She huffed loudly and sat up, stretching her arms out wide before flicking out the sheets and finding a neatly folded sheaf of paper, wrapped in a familiar red material.

Her body completely froze, grasping the letter tightly in her hands, sheets pooling around her waist. Her dry mouth croaked out an indistinguishable word that even she wasn’t sure of, though it may have been a name. She turned the paper in her hands, knowing instinctively it said everything Kara wanted to say, knowing the binding was more than just a convenient strip of fabric.

She was caught in a pivotal moment. Very rarely would people realise they were in one as it occurred. If she never knew the words written on the page she could always enjoy the comfort of not knowing how Kara felt. The not knowing meant hope, the not knowing meant one day Kara might not look at her with pitying eyes. If she read those words she would have the definitive answers to all her burning questions. She would know that Kara couldn’t be around the confusing turbulence that surrounded the Luthor name. She would know that she had pushed Kara too far away when she had wanted Kara to hold her.

The letter turned in her hands again, a thoughtful expression on Lena’s face and a wistful sigh escaping her lips. Shaky fingers tentatively tugged the loose ends of the tidy bow and it slipped away easily, streaking Kara’s heroic red across her lap. A scrap of newspaper fell away as she unfolded the paper, she picked it up and furrowed her brow as she examined the randomly torn paragraph of writing. She thought perhaps it’s relevance would become clear after reading the letter.

She focused her attention on the looping swirls of Kara’s handwriting. The letter encapsulated Kara’s scruffy elegance, a beautiful script spattered with ink splotches and smears. It began with an apology that spoke to the pity Lena had read in Kara’s eyes. But with a sincerity that stoked something in Lena’s rarely hopeful heart. 

Her chest began to ache as the images Kara put words to filtered through her mind. Her eyes raced to devour the intent of Kara’s carefully formed sentences. Light tears began to quietly trickle down her cheeks and a wet laugh escaped as she turned the torn newspaper over and saw a very stern picture of Kara gazing back.

Lena sat on her bed, breathing deeply, all the hope in Kara’s heart in one hand and all that Lena’s heart desired in the other. Her head should have been throbbing after a heavy night of drinking, her muscles should have ached. In fact, they probably were. But Lena’s swelling heart filled up her senses, her alcohol induced nausea replaced with tumbling fluttering excitement.

She wrapped the wild rag around her wrist, where it belonged, and bounced out of bed to throw on some clothes. It came as quite a surprise to Sam when she poked her head around the door, expecting to see Lena miserably hungover and self-pitying, and found Lena fully dressed with a gleaming smile on her face.

‘Good morning,’ Lena chirped. Sam’s head jolted back slightly, and her eyes widened in mystified astonishment.

‘Well, someone’s in a good mood this morning.’ Lena only smiled wider in response and her eyes glazed over in a far-off daze. ‘What… what is happening right now?’ She caught sight of the red material winding its way around Lena. ‘Oh…’ a roguish grin appeared on Sam’s face, ‘I see, had a late-night visitor, have we?’

‘No,’ she replied indignantly, ‘we have not. Just heading out to go and see her now though.’ Sam’s face twisted awkwardly and her guilty eyes dropped to the ground.

‘Your mother’s messenger came by. The wagon she wants is moving today… but I’ve been thinking,’ she hesitated, shifting her weight nervously. ‘Sheriff already knows we’re the bandits, so we don’t ha-‘

‘What?!’ Lena’s voice harshly screeched.

‘She knows those wagons were robbed by us.’ Lena scowled furiously at Sam, venom building on her tongue.

‘You had no right to tell her!’ She shuffled away from Sam and fumbled through a drawer for a matchbook.

‘I didn’t, she’s a smart woman. She figured it out herself,’ Sam said before her slight hurt turned into her own scowl. ‘And I can’t believe you think I’d tell her.’

‘Well, I don’t know where your loyalties lie since you shacked up with her sister,’ Lena’s voice was stony, but it cracked almost imperceptibly.

‘Don’t do that Lena.’

‘Do what?’ Lena tugged on her boots while shooting Sam an icy glare.

‘Push me away because you’re having a pity party.’

‘Fuck you. I am not having a pity party…’ she realised that possibly Sam would have been entirely accurate if she hadn’t just received Kara’s letter. Then it struck her. Had the letter come before or after Kara had found out?

‘How long?’ Lena’s voice had softened, almost to a whisper.

‘How long what?’

‘How long has she known?’

‘Don’t know exactly, but at least since we blew up Edge’s bridge.’ A strange rumbling of relief and confusion bubbled in Lena’s gut. ‘Look, we don’t have to take this wagon was all I was trying to say. Lillian hasn’t got anything over us,’ Sam said calmly and Lena scoffed.

‘Of course she does. If we don’t do this she’ll just find another way to ruin me.’ She stood up, pulling on her jacket and slipping a cigarette between her lips. Sam followed close behind.

‘This has really ruined your plans for the day, huh?’ Sam prodded Lena’s side, eyes glinting as they headed towards their horses.

‘My mother’s specialty, ruining my day.’

They set off for the mines to gather their equipment and Sam allowed Lena to mull over how many of her thoughts she was going to share. They had gotten well on their way to the planned attack site before Sam’s frustration go the better of her.

‘You gonna tell me what’s been going on between you and Sheriff or is it going to remain a mystery to me forever?’

‘Honestly, I don’t even really know,’ Lena huffed.

‘Well at least tell me who’s fault it is that you were arguing so I know which one of you to clout round the head.’ Lena smiled and shook her head.

‘I’m not sure I want to tell you then.’

‘I see, your fault then…’ Sam took a moment to ponder the strange and self-destructive ways of her best friend. ‘Why’d you do it? You were so happy that morning.’

Lena’s gaze dropped to her tightening grip on the reins and Sam saw the swell in her throat as she swallowed nervously. Sam had been Lena’s friend long enough to know that an answer would come, eventually. Sam glanced over at Lena occasionally to judge how close she was to speaking, it took her some time to figure out what it was she wanted Sam to know.

‘I killed him,’ she sighed at last.

‘Who?’

‘The wagon driver from our last heist.’ The words settled between them as they rode on, Sam not fully believing them.

‘With your gun?’

‘No… he fell off the cliff,’ her voice came out so quietly Sam strained to hear it. And she wasn’t sure she heard right because it didn’t seem to fit with Lena’s murderous claim. ‘I was holding him and he fell, it was my fault,’ her words broke unevenly as she struggled to control the lump rising in her throat.

‘Sounds like an accident to me.’ Sam scratched at the back of her neck. Lena wasn’t a murderer. Sam was certain it had been an accident; the trouble would be convincing Lena.

‘He was running from me! Slipped because of me! Fell because I couldn’t hold him! He’s dead because of me!’ Sam could see Lena getting swallowed up in the quicksand of guilt, which would have made sense she supposed, but Lena seemed to be diving into it head first. Almost like she wanted people to see her as a murderer, a bad person.

‘You know I don’t believe you’d hurt anyone like that on purpose, so who are you trying to convince? Sheriff?’ Lena’s jaw tightened and the wet line filling her eyes threatened to break into tears. Her instinct was to get angry again, to protect herself. But this was Sam, who had seen her at her worst. Sam who wouldn’t give up even when Lena snapped.

‘She’s better off without me,’ her voice turned icy though Sam knew it was all down to Lena trying to maintain her mask of indifference, trying and failing.

‘Think she might disagree. Don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone look quite so much like a kicked puppy.’

Lena let the words sink in, sorting through her feelings after the mess she had made of them. Kara knew she was a criminal. Sheriff Kara Danvers knew Lena Luthor was a criminal. And she still wrote that letter. Still believed Lena Luthor was worth fighting for.

‘I don’t know…’ she sighed, ‘I don’t know what I'm supposed to do.’ Sam rolled her eyes.

‘You wanna know why I’m happier than I’ve ever been?’

‘Doc’s good in bed I imagine,’ Lena drawled. Sam couldn’t help the bashful laugh that blushed across her cheeks.

‘Well, that helps. But, I grabbed on. You said I’d find someone who would see me. And you were right. But the rest was up to me. I dove in and I’m not coming up for air.’

‘That’s dumb. You’re just telling me to drown myself.’

‘Maybe so, but it sure don’t feel like drowning.’ They slowed to a halt as the trail wound through a narrow crevice. Sam twisted awkwardly in the saddle and pulled out several sticks of dynamite. ‘Just… if she’s fighting for you… Maybe you should let her. Ignore what you think she should do, see what she actually does do.’ She slid off her saddle and began the precise work of laying the explosives along the rocky edges of the trail.

Lena watched her intently, noticing the cheerful skip in her step as she whistled through her work. She shook herself out of it, hopped off her saddle and started to change into her disguise. She focused her mind on the task at hand, beginning with setting off the dynamite from a safe distance while Sam swapped out her clothes. The rocks crumbled at the force and tumbled to block the trail in a cloud of dust and sand.

As the golden clouds began to settle around them they ducked into a shaded hiding position to wait.

‘So… what did she say about us being criminals?’ she tentatively asked with a nervousness running through her voice.

‘First there was a lot of ranting about breaking the law,’ Sam paused to laugh at the serious frown Kara had had.

‘Then what?’ Lena said with more impatience displayed than she had intended.

‘I read her a poem and we skipped back to Binder holding hands.’ Lena rolled her eyes and shook her head. Sam smirked and lit a cigarette before passing the lighter off to Lena. ‘Then I don’t know, I guess she needed time to think about it. She wants us to stop though, it’s causing tension between the natives and the locals apparently.’

Lena blew out a long tendril of smoke, gazing fixedly at the toes of her boots.

‘She’s not gonna be happy about this then,’ she said despondently.

‘No,’ Sam took a drag of her cigarette, ‘I’d imagine not.’ She squinted up at the sun and took deep sighing breaths. ‘Glad I fell for the doctor. Trust you to start something up with a sheriff, drama queen.’

The quiet rumble of a wagon started in the distance, Sam and Lena moved to hitch their horses behind the rocky outcroppings and ducked down out of sight themselves. When it slowly ambled past them it quickly became apparent that whatever they were stealing was valuable. It was being guarded by six mercenary looking men.

‘Well they aren’t going down without a fight,’ Sam whispered. Lena softly hummed her agreement and made a series of hand gestures, Sam simply shrugged in response. She silently paced along the cliff side until she could hear the men blocked by their previous demolition work.

‘Looks like Mrs Luthor was right lads! Weapons at the ready.’ The resigned irritation on Sam’s face would have been a comical sight had it not been covered by her bandana.

‘Well if that’s the way she wants to play it…’ Sam muttered to herself while pulling a spare stick of dynamite out her pocket and lighting the short fuse. She nonchalantly tossed it around the corner and it rolled under the wagon.

‘Take cover!’ one of the men bellowed. Sam calmly plugged a finger in each ear and waited for the cloud of splinters and sand to blast past her. Using the plumes of debris as cover Lena slipped to the other side of the trail from Sam and ducked behind a jagged rock.

After much coughing and spluttering five of the six mercenaries got back to their feet and moved into formation. With guns raised they put their backs to the wagon and aimed in the direction Sam had thrown the dynamite from. She pulled the hammer back on her pistol and nodded to Lena.

Lena popped out of cover with both her pistols drawn, the first shot sunk into the knee of their leader and the second found a home in the gun-wielding arm of one of the grunts. She swivelled back into cover, readying her guns again. Their attention had been drawn to her and she smiled wickedly to herself.

Sam burst out of cover, charging straight for them. She wasn’t taking prisoners, Lillian Luthor would have to challenge her personally if she wanted to get to Lena. Her finger squeezed the trigger and her first shot ripped through the skull of the nearest man. She skidded along on her knees, swinging her rifle around to fire into the chest of the man turning toward her.

Lena popped out and fired a couple of near misses at two of the men nearest her. Sam lurched back to her feet, shoving the butt of her rifle into the throat of the man Lena had shot in the arm, and swung it down to knock the pistol out of his hand. She let the rifle hang from her shoulders and drew her pistol again, pointing it at his head and gripping him for use as a human shield.

The leader, knocked to the ground by Lena’s first shot, turned his gun on Sam but lost his grip on it when another of Lena’s bullets collided with the barrel. Sam hadn’t even looked at him, there was no glance of concern, just pure confidence that Lena was covering her. She turned her own pistol on the man currently trying to find a way to hit her without letting daylight into his colleague. A quick shot through his heart and the last armed man toppled.

All that remained was a small clean up and interrogation. Sam casually snapped the neck of the man in her grasp and turned her pistol on the leader.

‘What does Lillian want?’ Her words came out harsh and gravelly. He looked up at her with disgust and spat. She cocked the gun and paced forward, pressing the barrel to his head.

‘What does Lillian want?’ She was louder this time, the bite to her tone made his muscles tense. He didn’t answer though. Sam lifted the pistol and smacked it across his face, splitting the skin across his cheek, and returned the barrel to his forehead.

‘I won’t ask again.’ His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. Sam’s finger twitched on the trigger, his eyes flickered to her hand and back up to her face.

‘I don’t know! All we know is we were supposed to come out here and expect trouble.’ Sam pressed the barrel harder into his flesh. ‘We didn’t ask questions, she was offering too much money for questions.’ Sam’s finger squeezed and the leader dropped to the ground with a new orifice on his face.

Sam’s ability to rampage through a crowd of men wasn’t completely unknown to Lena, but she hadn’t witnessed it herself before. A mixture of awe and nausea settled in the pit of her stomach as she determinedly avoided watching the interrogation in favour of retrieving their horses. When she returned, Sam had holstered her weapons and the intimidating bounty hunter mask had disappeared.

‘You feeling alright?’ Sam noted the slight queasiness in Lena’s expression, but she couldn’t feel guilting for protecting Lena.

‘Yeah, fine. Just… that was a lot.’ She settled her stomach with careful breaths and started to change outfits again. ‘There any particular reason those guys got the full bounty hunter treatment?’ Sam fumbled with her coat as she tried to make sense of the information.

‘They… umm, your mother,’ she hesitated as Lena looked up at her with innocent confusion. ‘They worked for Lillian.’ It was somehow easier to say her name.

‘My mother?’ Sam nodded tightly in response. Lena’s eyes darted around the trail, searching for something, anything to make sense of it all. ‘There was never anything in this wagon was there?’

‘I don’t think so,’ Sam said quietly as she straightened out her clothing. Lena went alarmingly quiet but continued to pack away their gear with precision. Her face tense in thought.

‘They were a distraction.’

‘What?’

‘She told me to bring you. She knew you could deal with those men.’

‘She could have underestimated me.’

‘No, she’s not stupid enough for that. She wanted us out here.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know,’ she shot up into her saddle with a determined look on her face, ‘yet.’ She dug her heels in and started galloping straight back to Binder, Sam quick on her heels.

* * *

Meanwhile in Binder, Lillian had indeed been rather pleased with Lena’s absence. Two mercenary laden carriages had taken control of the town with an arsenal of pistols, shotguns and rifles. She glanced out of the carriage window with wicked glee, watching as the threat of gunfire herded the citizens of Binder towards the church. She reached her hand to the side and placed it gently on her companion’s own hand.

‘It’s finally time,’ her words dripped with excited menace. She turned expectantly towards the carriage door and waited for her footman to open it before she elegantly stepped out. She looked upon her huddled victims with sheer disgust, the glint of devilish intentions shining bright in her eyes.

From the dark of the carriage her companion emerged. He had a face like a melted candle, covered in burn scars so deep that he had lost his hair. His left eye was covered with a black patch, his right burned with barely contained rage. It was obvious that underneath his clothing the scars continued, peeking out from every uncovered patch of skin. He took in a deep breath of Binder air and grinned maniacally.

‘It’s good to be back,’ he gripped the pistol at his side, ‘for revenge.’ The people began to put the pieces together and looked around anxiously for help. Amongst them was Alex, who had been caught by surprise and now knelt on the ground with her wrists tied and a swollen lip. She spat clotting blood into the sand and eyed the man she assumed to be Lex Luthor, not quite as dead as she had been led to believe. But there was no sign of Kara.

‘Who do we think I should start with?’ He drew his pistol, a gleaming silver six-shooter inscribed with gold lettering _Revenge is best served gold_. ‘Perhaps Miss Lane…’ he pressed the barrel into her cheek before waving it across the group, ‘or maybe our illustrious mayor?’

‘Please…’ a meek voice whimpered from the crowd.

‘What? Please what?’

‘Don’t do this,’ the voice hid amongst the huddle.

‘Don’t destroy this town like it destroyed me?’ He placed a long, scarred finger to his cracked lips and hummed exaggeratedly. Kara appeared from behind the Luthor carriage and none of the mercenaries seemed to have noticed her. ‘I think it would only be fair if I returned the favour. I’ll start with your new sheriff.’ He rotated his arm smoothly and fired a solid gold bullet at Kara.

It sailed through the air and planted itself firmly in her chest, the force behind it knocking her to the ground.

‘Kara!’ Alex yelped and struggled to break free, but Winn held her back protectively.

‘Rats, I forgot to account for the density of gold… I was aiming for her head.’ He sighed and shrugged jovially. ‘Oh well, shall we?’ He held out his arm for his mother to link with and led the way into the church. The townspeople were corralled in behind them by the mercenaries who took up guard at the door and around the pews.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did warn you in chapter 20...  
> "Often, just as you think you’re getting a handle on something, it slips away."


	23. Steely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alex says what we're all thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little later than I usually post, sorry. But my irreverence for organisation has made today an incredibly stressful day. Seriously, haven't been this stressed since I had the slowest taxi driver in the world on my way to Bucharest Airport. No offense Romania, I had a lovely time but I did not want to be stuck there...  
> Anywho, can't believe we're on the penultimate chapter for this one. I'm glad I managed to get a plot twist in there that not all of you saw coming.

Their horses were panting heavily as they approached Binder, still galloping as fast as their hooves would carry them. Lena jumped from her horse and began sprinting towards the buildings when she caught sight of the people knelt in front of the church. As she got closer she spotted her mother and Lex, her heart stuttered and her feet stopped moving. Sam caught up to her a pulled her into cover behind a low wall.

Lena’s face was blank, her mind filtering through the emotions that were all too much. She had longed for Lex to be alive for so long she doubted herself. She nervously peeked over the top of the wall and saw Lex’s slick movements as he knocked Kara to the ground with a single bullet.

‘K-‘ Sam’s hand clamped over Lena’s mouth and what noise that did escape was lost amid Alex’s outrage. Sam’s other arm wrapped around Lena’s waist to pull her down and comfort her. Lena wriggled and tried to break Sam’s hold. The years of guilt and sorrow evaporated under the intense heat of Lena’s anger. Lex was no brother to Lena.

‘Ssshh,’ Sam calmly held tight and soothed Lena. ‘We can’t just rush out there, use that genius brain of yours.’ Lena began to settle back to the ground and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

‘But-‘ a choked sob interrupted her, ‘Kara…’ was really all Sam could hear amongst the unintelligible syllables spluttered from Lena’s bobbing throat. Sam soothing stroked along Lena’s arm and hushed her.

‘I know. I’ll kill that son of bitch.’

‘…No!’ Lena’s cries stilled and her face hardened into a statuesque state. Sam raised an uncertain brow. ‘I will.’ Sam had no response. All the years she had known her, Lena had never planned to kill a soul. Was it Lex or Kara that changed something in Lena? Sam shook off the thought, it didn’t matter either way. She could never let Lena kill her own brother, could never let Lena suffer the guilt that would follow.

Sam loosened her grip and began to make quick glances over the wall. They had all moved inside the church, all except Kara.

‘I’m going to climb the bell tower and slip in that way. When I start firing, you break through the door.’ Lena nodded but it wasn’t with the conviction that Sam had come to expect from her. She swallowed nervously and rose to her feet, heading straight for the back of the church. As she began the difficult climb she caught sight of Lena in her peripherals. Under different circumstances she might have made a show of the climb, proving that sober she really could do it.

Lena did not rush to cover her from the door. She sprinted across the open ground and slid to a halt at Kara’s side. A groan of pain croaked out of Kara’s lungs and Lena barely held back the stream of tears begging for release again. Their eyes connected, Kara had no such qualms about holding her tears back.

‘Lena, I’m so sorry,’ she gasped between choked cries. Lena ran her thumbs along Kara’s cheeks and brushed away her tears before placing a tender kiss on her lips. Kara’s chest rose with a longing sigh and pain shot through her ribcage.

Lena’s eyes flickered down to the bullet hole marking Kara’s blue shirt. There was no blood. Her brow creased in confusion and she carefully ran a finger over the hole. She looked up to Kara’s face questioningly.

On top of the main church building Sam looked over at them, desperate to give Lena a chance to say goodbye but eager to make sure she wouldn’t have to make her own goodbyes to Alex. She was rather more than surprised when she saw Lena rip Kara’s shirt open.

Lena uncovered a smooth metallic plate, engraved with a perfect ‘s’ encased in a diamond shape.

‘Wh-How… Wh-‘ was all Lena could manage to stutter. In line with where the bullet hole had been was a squashed pebble of gold, held in dented silver metal.

‘Winn,’ Kara gasped between painful breaths, ‘made it for me.’

‘I’ve never wanted to kiss a man before, but I might make an exception for him right now,’ she said around a laugh, the light returning to her eyes. Kara chuckled and instantly regretted it as he ribs protested.

‘Ow, don’t make me laugh, hard enough breathing right now.’ Kara began to slowly scramble to her feet, holding onto Lena for support and comfort. ‘Come on, we got people to save,’ she cocked her head and squinted at the church, ‘and I think Sam would like to get down soon.’ Lena sniggered and propped Kara up as they staggered towards the door.

As much as Sam wanted to sag in relief when she saw Kara get to her feet, she was too tense with Alex in the middle of trouble. She checked her guns, gave her friends a quick salute and slipped into the bell tower. Sliding carefully down the inside she hoped the slight scraping noise would go unnoticed amid Lex’s rambling villain monologue.

‘… do you know what it feels like to have your eye pecked out? Because I do! Perhaps Mr Lord would like a demonstration.’ Sam imagined that Mr Lord felt he perfectly understood the situation without a demonstration. ‘Come on up to the front, life’s full of new experiences!’ There was a shuffling of boots, a few pleading cries from Maxwell Lord and a scream of agony.

‘Gosh, he didn’t seem to enjoy that…’ Lex’s voice was so upbeat that a passive listener would have no clue that he had just torn an eyeball from its socket. ‘Well, you can’t win them all.’ Sam supported her body weight with all four limbs spreading across the tower, she glanced into the church and saw Lex press the barrel of his gun into Maxwell’s now empty eye socket. Lex looked across at the congregation and pulled the trigger, a back blast of blood speckling his shirt.

‘Messy in life, messy in death, I guess,’ Lex said with a wicked grin. Lillian disinterestedly reclined in the choir section at the front of the church. Sam’s plan began to formulate, which was good because her muscles were starting to complain. She took a deep, steadying breath and loosened her grip.

She dropped to the floor dramatically, drew her pistol and fired right between Lex’s eyes as he turned to the noise.

‘No!’ Lillian bawled, rising to her feet. Sam tugged Lillian in close and used her as a protective shield, deterring the mercenaries from shooting at her. The doors burst open, Lena and Kara charged in with guns raised and chaos ensued.

‘Everybody get down!’ Kara yelled above the initial shots of gunfire and, for the first time, every citizen of Binder gladly followed her instructions. Bullets flew wildly, occasionally ricocheting off the metal sconces on the walls. Kara and Lena made use of the pews to avoid standing out in the open, carefully selecting the right time to pop out and fire. Three women firing five guns with skilled accuracy meant it didn’t take long to put the leaderless mercenaries down. Especially not once Kara had broken Alex’s restraints and kicked a loose gun towards her.

The noise died down and the four of them looked around the room in a daze. Sam still firmly holding Lillian. The smell of gunpowder was thick in the air, tinted with the metallic iron smell of blood. The townspeople began to nervously shuffle from their prone positions. None of them would ever look at the church the same way again.

Alex was the first of the four heroines to move, her eyes fixed on Kara. She paced towards her with tear stained cheeks, pulled Kara’s head into her shoulder and gripped her tightly.

‘I thought I lost you,’ she whispered.

‘Made of steel, gotta do a lot more than that to lose me,’ she softly replied, returning the tight grip. Sam cleared her throat and grimaced at the need to keep focused on the dilemma she was holding.

‘What do we do with this one?’

‘Not for me to decide,’ Kara stonily said, ‘I’ll lock her up and send word up the chain, she’ll see justice.’

Lena locked eyes with Lillian, her impassive mask fixed back in place.

‘Why?’ she asked with a slightly jutted jaw.

‘You know why, Lena dear.’

‘Why did you send me away?’ Sam frog marched Lillian towards the door, the Luthor eyes still appraising each other.

‘Lex wouldn’t have spared you.’ Lena rolled her eyes in disbelief.

‘I suppose you want me to believe you were trying to protect me?’

‘Yes,’ she replied with pure sincerity that threw Lena off kilter. A tear broke through Lena’s façade and Lillian’s gaze softened. ‘Everything I do is for my family.’ Lena turned away and stomped out of the church, heading straight for her saloon. Kara’s sad eyes tracked her movements before the shuffling of boots drew her attention.

‘Can you take her to a cell? I need to do something first.’ Sam nodded and threw a meaningful glance at Alex, filled with all the relief, longing and desire she possessed. She pushed Lillian forward with barely contained contempt.

‘Is anyone hurt?’ Kara loudly asked the room. Mutterings of discomfort and shared concern rippled throughout but miraculously everyone aside from Maxwell seemed to have survived unscathed. ‘If anyone decides that maybe they are hurt I would advise you to see my sister sooner than Michael did.’ She glanced over her shoulder at Alex and smirked devilishly. People began to filter out of the building but didn’t know what to do with themselves after such a chaotic interlude to their day.

‘Before you all head off I’d like to clarify a few things for you,’ Kara declared over the quiet daze of Binder. ‘The attacks on trading wagons outside of town were carried out by men working for Lillian Luthor. I didn’t know Lex was still alive but I had just gotten onto the trail of Lillian when this all kicked off.’ Kara found herself in grey territory again, lying for the greater good.

‘Why? Luthor wagons got hit too.’

‘Today’s events were the second part of her plans. She had hoped to incite violence between the natives and Binder. By taking the produce and giving it to the natives she got you riled up something rotten. Thankfully you all calmed down before things happened how she had planned. Attacking her own wagons drew suspicion away from her.’

‘So, the Indians had nothing to do with it?’

‘Exactly.’ Kara sighed in relief as the crowd seemed to accept her words in their post trauma haze.

Sam sauntered over to Kara and Alex, holding out a key with a smile on her face.

‘Dashing as you look Sheriff, think Lena ruined your shirt.’ Kara looked down at the torn shirt and shiny metal plate covering her chest.

‘I should probably change.’

‘Let me take a look at your ribs too,’ Alex demanded.

‘I’m actually not going to argue with you about this one, it really hurts.’

‘Well, why don’t you two get our heroic sheriff sorted out and then meet me back in the saloon for a celebration?’ Alex propped Kara up against her and began to walk them back to the ranch, brushing a gentle hand down Sam’s arm as they left.

‘See you soon,’ she said in husky tones.

‘Aleeeex! Do you have to do that when I can hear? I’m right here!’ Sam and Alex couldn’t help snickering. Sam winked and watched the pair of them walk away, mostly watched Alex in truth.

In Kara’s new room Alex gingerly pressed along Kara’s purpling ribs. Her face was a mixture of focus, irritation and relief, which was not an easy combination to pull off. But Alex was a master of the multifaceted emotional face. Kara winced at the slight pressure but held steady.

‘So… how long you been made of steel?’

‘Oh,’ Kara laughed carefully so as not to push her ribs out too much, ‘Winn made it for me, when I saw all the trouble starting I thought it was a good time to test it out.’

‘Kara, a good time to “test it out” would have been before people shot at you!’ Alex huffed in frustration. ‘I’m glad it worked but you couldn’t know it would.’

‘Well I didn’t plan on getting shot…’

‘No… you never do,’ Alex sighed.

‘What’s the verdict?’

‘Couple of broken ribs and some nasty bruising. Need you to take it easy for a while.’

‘As long as no one causes trouble I solemnly swear to work as little as possible,’ she said with a playful grin. Alex rolled her eyes with another more exaggerated sigh.

‘Come on, get yourself a new shirt and we can head out.’

‘In a rush, are we?’ Kara waggled her eyebrows and teasingly poked Alex’s side.

‘You wanna play that game with me? I know exactly which ribs to poke right now…’ Alex deadpanned. Kara quickly curled in on herself and shuffled to her dresser.

‘That was my favourite shirt you know?’ she huffed and Alex could not have looked more unsympathetic if she had tried.

‘How do you even know? All your shirts are the same!’

‘They are not! The hues vary and that one fit me just right.’ She pulled another blue shirt from her drawer and carefully slid it on, trying her best not to inflame the pain in her chest. ‘You think Lena is alright?’

Alex’s long-suffering sigh was shortly followed by her collapse onto Kara’s bed, face first.

‘Would you two just talk it out already?!’ came muffled through the soft pillow. Kara stood dumbfounded, halfway through buttoning up her shirt.

‘What?’ Alex rolled over and gave Kara a hardened, done-with-this-shit stare.

‘Sam told you to talk to her, I get the feeling Winn told you to talk to her, _I_ told you it matters what you think, because you need to express yourself. Just **fucking** talk to her!’ Kara gulped, Alex had never been quite so blunt before.

‘I… I wrote her a umm, letter.’

‘Jeeesus! Give me strength. **Talk** Kara!’ Alex huffed and bounced to her feet. She grabbed Kara’s hand and dragged her out the door.

‘Alright, alright. Jeez I’ll talk to her. Just let me button my shirt up…’ Alex gave her a forceful glare and released her grip on Kara’s hand. ‘I think she liked my letter though,’ Kara said with an optimistic grin.

All of Alex’s anger and irritation seemed to dissolve into nothing as soon as she sat herself down at Sam’s side, feeling the warmth of Sam’s arm curl over her shoulders. Sam had managed to coax Lena down to the saloon for a small celebration and commiseration drinking party, and she sat stiffly opposite.

Kara looked at Lena nervously, hoping to gauge Lena’s response to her letter or the kiss they had shared earlier. Lena brushed away her family troubles and melted into a puddle at the sight of Kara. Her broad smile shone through her sparkling eyes.


	24. Wrap Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, here it is.  
> Thanks for coming on this weird Wild West adventure with me, your comments have been a delight to read and I'm truly grateful for all the kudos I have received.  
> I've had a blast writing this but I guess I must reluctantly move on from Binder.

With a second shot of rum burning down her throat Lena noted Alex catching Kara’s eye and tilting her head towards her. Evidently Alex felt that there was something Kara should be doing, whether it be looking, talking or just about anything else, it involved Lena. She couldn’t help the small smile creeping across her lips.

A plan to surreptitiously graze her fingers along Kara’s arm had just formed in her mind when Alex yelled out across the saloon.

‘Winn!’ He waved bashfully over to the group as the other patrons grumbled about the disturbance. ‘Come here! Someone pour that man a drink!’ Alex commanded as she excitably pointed at him and smiled wide.

Winn nervously approached them and Sam kicked a chair out for him to sit on whilst pushing a lowball glass of whisky across the table toward him.

‘Howdy ladies,’ he timidly nodded at them and graciously accepted the drink. Kara slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close while raising her own glass.

‘To the best farrier any town has ever known!’

‘I’ll drink to that!’ Lena croaked around the knot of gratitude building in her throat. Sam and Alex echoed Kara’s words and the five of them sighed in satisfaction before they all visibly relaxed after what had been a very tense day. Kara let her arm fall from Winn’s shoulders.

‘Honestly I can’t thank you enough Winn. I’d be dead if not for you.’ He ducked his head shyly and his cheeks pinked when the rest of the table started voicing their thanks too.

‘It was nothing, really. I’m glad to have something more important to do than making horseshoes.’

‘Well you my friend,’ Alex declared as she rose to her feet, ‘should consider yourself deputised or something. Kara, you deputise people that save your life, right? You have to, don’t you?’ Kara chuckled at how excitable Alex was and gave an uncertain nod of agreement. ‘You know who should be here?’

‘Jon,’ Kara guessed.

‘Jon! I’m going to get him. If we are going to celebrate, we gotta do it right.’ There was a brief pause after Alex had stomped out of the saloon, then Winn quietly spoke.

‘How much has she had to drink?’

‘That was drink number three, I had no idea she was such a lightweight…’ Sam muttered in dismay. Kara leaned across the table with all the devious intent that a sister should have.

‘Trick I learned a long time ago, Alex gets drunk real fast if she’s had a _really_ stressful day. Two more drinks and she’ll do just about any dumb thing you suggest.’

‘Well,’ Sam considered with a tilt of her head, ‘I guess this _would_ count as a stressful day.’ Before they could reflect on it any further Alex burst back into the saloon, dragging Jon behind her.

‘I found him!’ And as though they had all just discussed the matter the group decided in unison to simply follow Alex down the overly excitable drunk rabbit hole. A chorus of gleeful cheers roared from their table and Jon was shoved into a chair next to them.

It took a few more drinks before Jon began to loosen up and once he did the gang learned just how many jokes and stories he had picked up over the years.

‘There was a man, as intimidating as our bounty hunter friend here, except meaner looking because he didn’t have the natural smile of Miss Sam,’ he winked across the table at Sam, ‘his face was set hard and cruel. Not a soul in the bar wanted to disturb him as he downed his whisky.’

Alex’s hand found its way to Sam’s lap as she huddled closer and listened intently. Sam’s satisfied sigh barely registered with the others as Jon continued.

‘When he was done, he stood up, slammed his money onto the countertop and lurched out the saloon. There was a shared sigh of relief while everyone let the tension flow out… but he came storming right back in shouting over the din. “Listen up you bastards! Someone’s taken my damn horse. I’m gonna have one more drink in this saloon and when I’m finished my horse is gonna be back outside where I left it! If it ain’t I’m gonna have to do what I done in Texas! And I don’t wanna do what I did in Texas!”’ Jon allowed a dramatic pause before continuing, Winn leaning on the table engrossed in the story.

‘Well, like the man said he had one more drink. He got up and walked outside. Sure enough his horse had been returned. His mean face nodded and he jumped up into the saddle. But just before he left a young man approached him, fear in his eyes. And squeaked “Don’t mean to cause you no bother sir, but I gotta know what you did in Texas.” Cowboy looked down at him, scowl etched in place and eyes shooting right through him. And he says “I walked home.”’

There was a rumbling of disappointed groans and a few eyes rolled around the table as Jon sat back with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

‘Alright, we need something else to do if this is the level of entertainment we’re gonna get from Jon,’ Alex stated as she poked Jon’s arm. Kara’s face lit up.

‘How about some music?’ she asked and Alex groaned.

‘Please… no more of your singing. I can’t take anymore.’ Kara looked at her with faux outrage before turning to Lena.

‘Actually… I was gonna suggest Lena plays us something.’

‘Plays?’ Alex questioned and somehow Kara’s impossibly wide grin got wider.

‘Lena plays the piano, _really_ well.’ Lena shrunk in on herself shyly and Sam waggled her eyebrows at her.

‘Come on Lena, play us something to dance to,’ Sam said.

‘Oooh, yeah! Dancing!’ Alex excitedly bounced to her feet, tugging at Sam’s hands. Lena’s lips twisted to one side as she glanced around the expectant table. She let out an aggrieved huff and began taking off her jacket before shuffling over to the piano. She rolled her head, elongating the tense muscles of her neck and stretched out her arms before thumping into the piano stool.

With the jacket removed Kara spotted it. Her wild rag, wrapped tightly around Lena’s wrist. A blooming warmth coursed through her chest and she sauntered over to the side of the piano, gazing longingly as Lena’s long fingers wiggled in anticipation of the music.

‘Alright, what were we thinking? A bit of Mozart?’ Her hands bounced into action and the notes of Mozart’s Turkish March trickled around the room. ‘Maybe something a little more wistfully romantic?’ Her eyes darted to Sam and Alex as she sprang into the middle of Chopin’s Spring Waltz. The magical ease of Lena’s playing once again caught Kara off guard, a dopey grin settling on her face as she leant against the top of the piano.

‘Play you,’ she sighed. Lena raised a quizzical eyebrow but seemed to understand exactly what Kara was requesting. She slipped into a slow, sultry melody that wound its way around the saloon with hypnotising soul.

Whether the same could be said for the pair in sobriety was unclear, but Sam and Alex were awful drunk dancers. Constantly knocking into tables and bursting into fits of giggles, neither of them found the beat. Winn however, it turned out was a natural. Encouraged by the drunken silliness of his new friends he jumped to his feet, tapped and skipped his way over to Kara before sweeping her into an energetic jaunt around the saloon.

Kara laughed and danced until her breath became harder to catch and her chest complained about the extra stress on her cracked ribs. Lena seemed to find the contagious joy too, she poured more of herself into the notes and rose to her feet to bounce along with the melody. Even Jon had been dragged into an awkward shuffle by Alex and Winn.

It was when the regular piano man had taken over, and Sam and Lena had clambered onto the bar to show off their drunken inability to tap dance, that Jess declared they had all had enough to drink. Which would almost certainly have been met with indignant outrage had Sam and Lena not both lost their footing and fallen off the bar.

The gang all laughed at the tangled mess of limbs groaning on the floor, Winn and Jon said their goodbyes for the evening and Alex crouched down to help peel the clumsy dancers off the floor.

‘Come on, I think it’s time we got you to bed,’ she muttered to Sam, as she slung an arm around her waits and burrowed into the warmth.

‘I like the way you think Doc,’ she replied with a wonky eyebrow wiggle, creeping her arm under Sam’s poncho. Alex snorted and the pair of them stumbled out of the bar, heading for Danvers Ranch.

A tense expectation sat between Lena and Kara as they realised it was just the two of them. Lena awkwardly creaked to her feet and leant back against the bar. Kara reached out and gently ran a finger across the red material wrapped around Lena’s wrist. She let out a shaky breath and met Lena’s piercing multifaceted eyes.

‘We should probably talk, huh?’

Lena obviously agreed because the next thing Kara knew she was being tugged up the stairs and herded to Lena’s room. Confidence buoyed by alcohol, Kara shuffled to the armchair and carefully sat down with a determined expression forming on her face.

‘So, I-‘ Kara was cut off by Lena’s weight tumbling into her lap and lips claiming hers. It was messy and awkward as Kara fought to keep her breaths shallow. But it was filled with all the longing they had been concealing from each other. Kara’s hand tangled in dark hair and she pulled away, staying close enough to still feel the warmth of Lena’s breath.

‘Talk,’ Kara said, refocusing her thoughts. Alex had been very clear. Talk was the key. ‘We should talk.’ Lena pouted and rose to her feet, beginning to peel away layers of clothing. Kara’s brain froze.

‘I’ll be honest Kara… I wouldn’t say that I’m the most profound talker this many drinks in.’ Lena caught Kara’s eye and slowly unlaced her corset, her smile downright diabolical. Kara’s brain stuttered back into action and she shook off as many dirty thoughts as she could.

‘Well… uh,’ she nervously smiled and adjusted her hat, ‘maybe we should talk tomorrow then.’ Lena bit down softly on her bottom lip and raised a brow.

‘I like where this is going, do go on.’

‘Oh,’ Kara choked and scratched at the back of her neck. She laughed but it came out as a tense titter. ‘Not that I don’t want to… do that… I do! Definitely! But…’ She closed her eyes and silently begged for the words to come out right. ‘Alex said we had to _talk_ and I think she’s maybe right. And also I’m not supposed to do anything… too umm… gotta keep myself calm and let my broken ribs heal.’ Her face creased into an apologetic melancholy. It was Lena’s turn to freeze.

‘You broke your ribs?’

‘Oh,’ she shuffled her hat again, ‘yeah. Just gotta take it easy for a while.’

‘Shit, sorry I dragged you up here. I guess I’m going to have to remember that just because you survived a bullet, it don’t make you invincible.’ She stood with her corset still loosely covering her and a pitiable pout on her face. ‘You want me to help you get home?’

‘No,’ Kara replied so quickly it made Lena laugh. ‘I mean… I was thinking, that is if you don’t mind, maybe I could… sleep here tonight?’

Lena’s wicked grin returned. She let the corset slip away and continued undressing.

‘I don’t mind at all,’ she lost her balance while trying to remove her boots and fell onto the bed in a somewhat less seductive manner than she had planned. ‘But, you should know I sleep naked,’ she lied.

‘Ow,’ gasped out of Kara’s lungs as her deep inhale at Lena’s words pressed against her ribs.

‘Fuck, sorry,’ Lena muttered, trying to tone down her devilish drunk seductress routine.

‘It’s fine, I’m fine,’ she wheezed and sauntered over to the bed. She pulled back the covers and kicked off her boots. Lena knelt on the edge of the bed and gently moved to unbutton Kara’s shirt, pausing to stare at the purple welt covering Kara’s heart. ‘I really am fine,’ Kara insisted, noticing Lena’s concern. She hustled Lena beneath the covers and wrapped her arms tenderly around her. A stressful and tense day, followed by a lot of alcohol meant that the pair of them easily slipped into the shallow breaths of sleep. 

* * *

 

The next morning, Sam stumbled into the kitchen and almost all her irritably hungover feelings melted away at the wondrously domesticated sight of Alex frying up some bacon for her.

‘Good morning beautiful,’ she husked into Alex’s ear, arms folding around her waist. Alex sighed contentedly and leant back into the embrace with a smile. ‘You think Kara came back here last night?’

‘Hmm, I’m not sure. Could go either way with those two… But I bet you Kara still hasn’t really talked to Lena.’ Sam snorted and nuzzled Alex’s neck.

‘I reckon you’re probably right,’ she paused and rested her chin on Alex’s shoulder, ‘do you think it’s unfair we keep expecting Kara to do the talking?’

‘Maybe… but you think Lena’s gonna be the one to take the risk?’ Sam hummed out a laugh and shook her head gently. 

* * *

 

Kara woke first, bleary eyed and aching. She rolled onto her back and shifted until her chest was as comfortable as it was going to be, her arm still trapped under Lena’s side. The light filtering in through the windows was golden and wonderful but far too bright for Kara’s bloodshot eyes. She would have simply closed her eyes to combat the problem, but she hadn’t really had much chance to really look at Lena’s room before.

There wasn’t much to it, all Lena’s fire and passion was obviously not channelled in her decorations. On the far wall was a solitary painting and as somewhat of an art fan herself she quickly focused on it. Uneven brush strokes and vibrant colours that weren’t quite realistic, blended together to form a dreamy landscape that Kara didn’t recognise. This was a painting style Kara hadn’t seen before, which meant one of two things to her. Either Lena herself was a revolutionary artist, or Lena’s interest in art went beyond Kara’s.

There were so many things she didn’t know about Lena, it was confusing to feel like she fitted perfectly together with a virtual stranger. She worried over what to say and her eyes flitted across the room to Lena’s dresser. A framed picture sat squarely in front of the mirror, the placement was odd and seemed like it didn’t belong there. What was in the frame Kara couldn’t say, because covering it almost entirely was the fragile newspaper clipping she had sent to Lena. She squinted and saw her own irritated face staring right back.

The sheets rustled, gentle fingers ran along her almost numb arm. Her eyes ran along the perfect profile of Lena’s figure, outlined in golden sunlight. She reached across and stroked a finger down the hourglass shape. Lena hummed pleasantly and rolled to face Kara.

‘Morning,’ Kara said with an excitable smile.

‘Mornin,’ she croaked back, tired eyes still blazing with joy. Her hand spread across Kara’s abdomen and she shuffled closer. Kara tried her best to carefully release a long, and slightly exasperated, sigh as she felt Lena’s hand begin to creep lower.

‘Talk!’ She loudly reminded herself. It had a scalding effect on Lena too which made her laugh. ‘Sorry. I just… we _really_ should talk.’

‘Yeah,’ Lena agreed with a discontented grumble. ‘…what about exactly?’

‘Uh… I’m not sure,’ Kara’s face contorted in thought, ‘maybe what we want?’ Lena gulped.

‘Right, so… what do you want?’ Lena nervously watched Kara’s face knowing exactly what she wanted to see.

‘Well…’ Kara’s mind was fuzzy but she thought about the letter. ‘I want you by my side… like this,’ she gestured between them and continued, ‘but more… I don’t think I’m saying this right. I want us to have each other. Does that make sense?’

Lena was lost in Kara’s thoughtful blue eyes. She absentmindedly traced patterns across Kara’s stomach with her fingertips. There was an anxious quiet between them as Lena slowly remembered how to respond.

‘Yeah. It does.’

‘I want to be the person who you don’t have walls with…. That doesn’t sound right. I don’t want you to feel like you need to push me away, no matter what, you’re stuck with me… as long as you want me that is.’ The rambling mess of Kara’s words only endeared Lena more.

‘Am I allowed to kiss you, or do we have to talk more first?’ Kara instinctively tilted her face towards Lena and their lips met in a gentle, slightly hesitant kiss. ‘I want all that too.’ Lena’s words whispered over Kara’s lips.

Lena caressed a hand over Kara’s cheek and nestled her fingers in golden strands. She let their lips brush tantalisingly close before gently biting on Kara’s bottom lip with a devious glint in her eye.

‘How high is your pain threshold?’ she said after releasing Kara’s lip and resting the foreheads together. A strangled gulp squeaked out of Kara’s throat.

‘W-w-why?’

‘Need to know much heavy breathing you can handle,’ she wrapped the words around a wicked smile and put her best efforts toward a wink. It was more of a blink.

‘You’re gonna be the death of me, I just know it.’

‘I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,’ Lena said innocently. But there was an intense passion and confidence in her eyes that Kara had seen on the first day they had met. And the words tumbled out before she could even consider them.

‘Are we going to have trouble?’ Lena’s groggy, hungover mind took a moment to trace down the reference but once she had she was quick to reply.

‘You tell me tinman,’ she said with a sly grin. Lena slid her leg over Kara and held her weight away from her chest. Leaning in to lay claim to Kara’s lips once more, stifling whatever words Kara had intended to use.

Lena worked in Sunday morning movements, relaxed and carefree, gentle and quiet. Straddled across Kara’s abdomen she gripped either side of Kara’s head and slowly devoured her with unrelenting lips and tongue. Kara could feel the pain increase as her breaths got deeper but she was far from tapping out.

Kara’s kiss swollen lips gained a reprieve when Lena’s mouth moved down her throat, gently sucking a trail down until she met bruised skin. Lena glanced up at her, passion dimmed slightly by concern.

‘It’s fine.’

‘Promise?’

‘Promise.’

Lena’s trail skipped around the wound and continued on down Kara’s stomach. She took a slight detour to dip her tongue into Kara’s belly button before proceeding, but eventually stopped just as Kara’s limits were about to be tested. The disappointed huff that escaped her made her wince almost imperceptibly in pain.

Lena shuffled into a comfortable position between Kara’s legs and pushed them wider apart. She teasingly worked along one of Kara’s thighs until she felt Kara’s fingers twisting into her hair and puller her closer. She allowed herself a satisfied smile before giving Kara what she wanted.

She had tasted Kara on her fingers before, but this was better. She greedily lapped over Kara’s core and hummed in pleasure before dedicating herself to slowly building Kara up. She discovered just where Kara wanted pressure and coyly worked around it. When Kara’s grip tightened, and she heard a faltering breath escape, tinged with pain, Lena’s plan changed. Slowly was torturous.

Her focused ministrations quickly had Kara resisting the urge to arch her back. She tried to steady her breaths as Lena took her to the edge of oblivion and let her free fall in sheer pleasure. Lena soothed her through it and puled away nervously, hoping she hadn’t caused Kara too much pain.

Kara’s limbs felt like liquid as the melted against the sheets and calmed her breathing.

‘Wow,’ she sighed, ‘I definitely want _that_ , too.’ Lena chuckled and moved to the edge of the bed to pull on some clothes. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’

‘To get us some breakfast?’ She glanced over her shoulder at Kara’s languid body, a smug smile still fixed on her face. Kara surprised her by bolting upright and wriggling across the bed until she was kneeling on the floor between Lena’s legs.

‘Not yet you’re not,’ she murmured, brushing her lips along Lena’s thigh.

‘Kara… Much as that image is _very_ appealing, I don’t want to have to explain to Alex how you punctured a lung or something.’ She stroked a hand through Kara’s hair and gazed at her lovingly.

Kara fixed her eyes on Lena’s expression and waited with anticipation as she ran calloused fingertips up the inside of Lena’s thigh to her glistening centre. Lena bit back a groan and her eyelids fluttered.

‘I thought _I_ was supposed to be the Goddess of Trouble…’ Kara’s expression tightened with guilty shock.

‘You… uh, you heard that?’

‘Uh huh…’ Lena’s sly smile grew but was quickly wiped away when Kara’s finger slowly plunged through her slickness and slotted into her deeply.

‘Well, now you know you’re a Goddess, best let me worship you.’ Lena’s hips jolted and her eyes rolled back as Kara rhythmically explored her, adding another finger when Lena subconsciously spread her legs wider. Her thumb hooked up to pulse over her clit as her fingers searched for their mark inside.

‘Kara,’ Lena moaned between panting breaths. Kara’s pace quickened and Lena’s back tensed like a bow as an unexpected scream of pleasure ripped from her.  Kara’s cocky grin at having found just the right angle would have embarrassed Lena if her vision hadn’t temporarily abandoned her. She fell back against the sheets, all thoughts of breakfast forgotten.

 

**Epilogue**

 

No more than a month after Lillian’s initial imprisonment life in Binder seemed to have settled. There had been a fast spread of stories and news regarding Binder’s heroines not long after the events. The story so engaging and interesting several journalists from nearby cities had visited to find out more. James Olsen had even made an appearance to capture the image of the four women. Winn had been dragged into frame and firmly held in place by both Alex and Kara.

All that furore had died back though, left to become an almost mythical tale. Which was just how Sam wanted it. She had happily given up bounty hunting and if a new story about her daring escapades never surfaced she would have applauded the heavens. People, on the whole, hadn’t stopped to question why it was the new ranch manager needed to live on site, so she enjoyed the comforts of waking up every morning with her arms tangled around Alex.

Alex wasn’t disappointed by the prospect either and with her medical practice fully built and operational she breezed through her days with outright glee. Ever since she’d aided in the town’s rescue people had been more inclined to trusts her opinion as a medical professional. Most of the time all she did was treat general sickness, with the occasional dumb accident requiring stitches. But that was all she ever wanted.

Lillian’s arrest had instantly changed things for Kara. She had earned respect in Binder as a sheriff and she filled her days with amicable conversations, keeping the peace. Sometimes she would enjoy a good meal with Sam and Alex at the end of a pleasant day but more often than not she would be found in Lena’s saloon of an evening. As far as the people of Binder were concerned, Lena and Kara were best friends. You didn’t mess with one if you didn’t want trouble from the other.

Lena was still a Luthor, she still wasn’t totally trusted. But her new much more sober approach to life and business had brought about a change in the fortune of Binder. Lena had invested heavily in Jon’s store and had begun to use the profits she made from it and her saloon to send completely legally acquired goods to the local natives. Lena’s work was showing signs of strengthening the town’s economy.

 

The trouble in Binder, it seemed, had resolved itself.

 

For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can pry musical inserts from my cold dead hands!
> 
> Got some ideas mulling over for new fics, but this 24 chapters in, I think like, 22 days has been hard to keep up with... which I realise is my own damn fault but still.  
> Also still plodding away with Who's Asking? if you're looking for something much more fluffy than this.


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